Operation Successful – Patient Deceased

THE DEADLY THREAT OF NEW HOSPITAL GERMS

Every year, around one million patients in Germany are infected with hospital germs. Up to 40,000 people die of them, according to the German Society for Hospital Hygiene. The danger is growing as a result of new germs resistant to all antibiotics. Doctors and healthcare policymakers are sounding the alarm. Infection protection legislation has been stepped up and Germany’s federal government has laid out a 10-point action plan – but the problems are far from being solved. This film goes behind the scenes in Germany’s hospitals – and uncovers a shocking state of affairs: legal requirements are flouted every day – and everyone involved knows about it. “We are breaking the law,” a leading hospital physician tells us, “because we have too few nursing staff to comply with the important hygiene regulations.”

The film follows the tragic case of a young patient after a caesarean section. It takes us on an investigative trail behind the clean-looking facades of our hospitals. Experts point out grave shortcomings in the organisational structures of hospitals. Insiders report on how essential hygiene measures are bypassed every day. They name the flaws in the system and expose what’s been hushed up for years by many hospitals: today hygiene and the treatment of patients infected with hospital germs are still of secondary importance. The principal concern in German hospitals is the struggle to get as many patients and perform as many operations as possible – to maximise profits.

TEAM
Written and directed by: Meike Hemschemeier // Camera: Michael Kern // Second camera: Erik Sick, Marcus Winterbauer // Sound: Steven Altig // Assistant: Frank Bowinkelmann // Actors: Stephanie Engel, Bernd Wöllmer // Film editor: Isabelle Albert // Music: Thomas Wolter // Sound editor: Maximilian Dederichs // Sound mix: Alexander Weuffen // Production: Katja Sträter // Production manager: Oliver Gontram // Executive producer: Thomas Weidenbach // Commissioning editor: Ulrike Schweitzer