Senior arrested for allegedly switching off hospital roommate's "annoying" ventilator
A patient in a German hospital was arrested after allegedly switching off her hospital roommate’s ventilator twice. Her reason: the sound of the machine was annoying.
The reported incident occurred on Tuesday, November 29, in a hospital in Mannheim, a German city just south of Frankfurt. A joint press release by the public prosecutor’s office in Mannheim and the police headquarters states that a 72-year-old woman is in custody “on suspicion of attempted manslaughter.”
According to the release, sometime before 8 pm, the woman is suspected of turning off the main switch of the oxygen device of a fellow patient, a 79-year-old who was dependent on the mechanical oxygen supply.
The German city of Manheim, where the alleged incident occurred/uslatar/Shutterstock
“She felt disturbed by the noise coming from the oxygen device,” reads the statement.
Hospital staff are said to have informed the patient that the oxygen supply was vital; however, she allegedly switched it off again at around 9 pm.
As a result, the patient required resuscitation; however, “the woman is now out of danger but still needs intensive care.”
“The accused was then brought before the detention and investigating judge of the district court in Mannheim on Wednesday, November 30, 2022,” states the release. “He carried out the arrest warrant as requested. The 72-year-old was then taken to a correctional facility.”
Mannheim’s public prosecutor’s office and the police are still investigating the incident.
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