Woman doctor linked to 1500 patient deaths

Sydney Morning Herald ^ | February 22, 2004 | DPA

[aculeus]

Authorities in Germany arrested a respected hospital physician yesterday in what is being called the biggest criminal medical investigation in postwar German history - possibly involving 1500 morphine deaths.

Investigators in Hanover said Dr Mechthild Bach was being held in connection with the death of eight patients under her care at a pain clinic at the well-known Paracelsus Hospital in suburban Hanover.

But they said they had also confiscated the records of 76 clinic patients who died under unusual circumstances.

And there were unconfirmed reports of more than 250 cases in the past four years and hundreds more dating back to the early 1980s.

Bach has gone on national television to deny any wrongdoing. The primly dressed, softly spoken 54-year-old practitioner said the allegations against her were hurtful and misguided.

"I love all my patients," she told RTL television. "I am devoted to them. I often say they are my children since, you see, I long ago opted to have no children of my own."

But while she stressed she would never harm a patient, she has told interviewers she would go to great lengths to alleviate their suffering. That, she insisted, was the whole purpose of the pain clinic she heads at Paracelsus Hospital.

"It is wholly false to say that what I am involved in doing is helping people to die," she told RTL. "I see myself as helping people in the process of dying."

Hospital staff alerted authorities after noting an alarming death rate among patients under Bach's care.

While many patients in the chronic pain ward were suffering from terminal illnesses, several were there for relatively routine operative procedures or ailments which ordinarily do not result in death.

One elderly female patient was admitted for therapy to alleviate pain after suffering broken bones in a fall. The patient died after a few days.

Once the allegations against Bach became public, more suspicious incidents were brought to the attention of investigators.

"We've had a number of calls in recent days from relatives saying that in retrospect the death of a relative under Bach's care seemed unusual," said Thomas Klinge, a spokesman for the chief prosecutor's office in Hanover.

Authorities have confiscated records of 76 patients who died between December 2001 and May 2003.

As head of the pain clinic, Bach signed all death certificates for patients who died in her wards.

Mr Klinge said there was no evidence at this point to support reports that hundreds of cases might be involved.

However, Der Spiegel news magazine referred to the investigation on Friday as "one of the biggest criminal probes" in German post-war history.

Der Spiegel said Bach could be linked to 251 patient deaths between January 2000 and last July, and to as many as 1500 deaths since 1982.

Mr Klinge cautioned against such speculation, saying: "The suspect correctly treated many terminally ill cancer patients with morphine, we know that. And there is no evidence indicating that the number of unsolved deaths is anywhere near 1500 at this point."

So far, records of 11 patients have been studied by investigators.

In eight of those deaths, the patients were not terminally ill but allegedly were nonetheless prescribed high doses of morphine.

This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/21/1077072897442.html

[Calpernia]

couldn't help but think of that doctor you freep mailed me about.

[vbmoneyspender]

Dr Bach meet Dr. Mengele. Dr. Mengele meet Dr. Bach.

[muawiyah]

Oh, my goodness. A "Killer Doc" with enough courage to go after adults. Most of these mad-dog killers prefer to attack babies.

[syriacus]

Hospital staff alerted authorities after noting an alarming death rate among patients under Bach's care.

What an understatement!! Unbelievable.

[syriacus]

"I am devoted to them. I often say they are my children since, you see, I long ago opted to have no children of my own."

?????

I just can't figure out what to say about this statement by her.

[Calpernia]

ping

[syriacus]

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000100&sid=aGtvQOL5R8tg&refer=germany

251 Bach patients died between January 2000 and May last year, when her employer, a state-owned health insurer, fired her on suspicion of misusing morphine.

German lawmakers have urged closer scrutiny of medical practitioners' use of morphine to control pain for terminally ill patients. Harold Shipman, a British medical practitioner, killed at least 251 of his patients by injecting them with diamorphine during house calls.

[Calpernia]

ping

[nuconvert]

egads!

A regular Florence Nightingale..........

[Charles Henrickson]

Ich bin ein Flatliner.

[AlbertWang]

Der Spiegel said Bach could be linked to 251 patient deaths between January 2000 and last July, and to as many as 1500 deaths since 1982.




She makes Jack Kervorkian (sp?) look like a slacker!

[Charles Henrickson]

Bach is a prolific decomposer.

[Happygal]

~hands on me hips~
LOOK at the headline...'WOMAN doctor'.

Lord Jaysis, sure aren't us women allowed to make a few mistakes! ;-)

And besides, she was only practising for the day when Gerhardt Schroeder walked in for a check up! ;-)

(DISCLAIMER FOR THE (IRISH) HUMOUR IMPAIRED..I'm only kidding)

[sarasmom]

Pain controll measures for terminally ill cancer patients results in a large number of deaths?
For a doctor who specialises in terminally ill patients?
Hmmm.
I think I will wait for the results of a full investigation.
I am not a supporter of euthanasia in any form, but I also do not believe terminaly ill patients must suffer torture while physicians artificialy prolong the dying "naturally" process.
The line is really not that thin, if the person is actually terminally ill, and suffering needlessly.
OTOH, if the patient is not really at end of life, and the doctor decides they should be, that is another story.

[nuconvert]

"and last July"

Seems to be on hiatus.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

I heard that they're doing a film of her story. Dr. Jack Kevorkian calls it "the feelgood movie of the year."

[floriduh voter]

Whoa.

[ValerieUSA]

If Dr. Bach was male, would the headline be, "Man Doctor Linked to 1500 Patient Deaths"?

[Blood of Tyrants]

But while she stressed she would never harm a patient, she has told interviewers she would go to great lengths to alleviate their suffering.

Apparently even killing them. Never mind that she didn't ASK them first.