The first corona patient was admitted a year ago: The big interview on the anniversary of the pandemic with the head of the Munich Clinic Dr.
Fisherman.
Munich
- Corona has kept the
Munich Clinic
in suspense - for so long and still more intensely than hardly any other hospital in the republic.
On January 27, 2020, the first German patient was
admitted
to an
isolation ward in Schwabing
.
Since then, the specialists at the city hospitals have been among the medical spearheads in the fight against the
pandemic
.
The head of the approximately 7,500 employees at the
Munich Clinic
is a doctor himself by training - and works with a lot of passion to organize the logistics behind the front lines in Schwabing, Bogenhausen, Harlaching, Neuperlach and on Thalkirchner Straße.
In a big interview with
tz
,
Dr.
Axel Fischer
How a year of Corona * feels from the point of view of the clinic staff and what lessons we can all learn from the
pandemic
.
Corona: Virus even followed the Munich clinic boss in dreams
Do you sometimes dream of Corona?
Dr. Axel Fischer:
I usually dream of beautiful things, at least as far as I can remember.
But there was one exception - in November, when we had
corona outbreaks
in our clinics in
Bogenhausen
and
Neuperlach
.
At that time I asked myself: What else is in store for us?
The virus followed me at night for a week.
How many corona patients have your employees treated in the meantime?
Fischer:
Last week we discharged the 2,000th patient, plus there were over 5,000 suspected cases that had to be treated with a similar amount of effort - isolated and wearing protective gear.
We
currently have around
100 Covid patients
.
Munich intensive care physicians report that the situation is currently easing somewhat. Can you confirm this encouraging trend?
Fischer:
It applies at least to the
normal corona stations
.
We took care of up to 210 patients over Easter.
During the second wave, we reached an occupancy peak of 170 cases - over Christmas of all times, when many of our employees would have liked to take time off.
However, the number of
intensive care patients
has been almost unchanged for weeks.
It is 30 to 40. The daily struggle for patient survival is not over yet.
Corona in Munich clinics: 1000 patients treated within three months
The second wave was felt to be more violent than the first - but there are now fewer corona patients in your clinics?
Fischer:
That is not entirely true.
The
length of stay of the patients
has become shorter, we have to
treat
more
corona cases
than before
in the same time
.
But because patients are discharged earlier, the peak occupancy rate isn't quite as high.
It took us eight months to treat the first 1000 patients, and only three months for the next 1000.
Why is that?
Fischer:
There are several reasons.
Lately fewer patients have
arrived
from the
nursing homes
, some of them simply no longer wanted to go to hospital.
Compared to the first wave even more patients now come with a
living will
, who do not want medical procedures more at a worsening of their condition.
In addition, the treatment concepts have become better, so that many patients are
spared
the
intensive care unit
.
How long will it be before you can close your corona intensive care units?
Fischer:
We will still be operating
corona intensive care units
in autumn
, but they will no longer be full.
I am confident that, thanks to the
vaccinations
and, later, also with the power of summer
, we will
be able to push the virus back further.
It will not go away yet, we must certainly continue to be on our guard against
Corona *
be.
But I don't think we're facing an extreme third wave.
Corona: Munich clinic boss Fischer protects the politicians
Can you understand that more and more people are getting tired of the corona measures?
Fischer: From a
purely emotional point of view - of course.
Monaco Franze once said: 'Man is a creature.'
I also sometimes find myself pondering how I could circumvent the rules in such a way that I can meet friends again for a glass of wine.
But in the end I just don't do it.
Because it is forbidden or because as the head of the clinic you have a role model function?
Fischer:
First and foremost, because it would be the wrong way to
deal responsibly
with the challenges posed by this unspeakable
virus
.
It's not just about me, it's all about us.
That's why it annoys me when some people
beat politicians
out of their
corona grant
without reflection.
They don't want anything bad for us citizens and after all they are just people who would like to go out to dinner or meet friends again.
So you are demanding more respect for the decisions made by politicians?
Fischer:
I demand the understanding that the
protective measures are there
for all of us.
And so it should be easy for us to accept it.
Personally, it would stink a lot more if I couldn't go skiing this year because I broke my foot - the thought would stress me more than the fact that we won't all be on the slopes this year.
+
Available to answer questions: Munich Clinic boss Dr.
Axel Fischer (left).
© Götzfried
Corona: "Society should have a better view of the very old and the very young"
What lessons should we all learn from Corona?
Fischer:
We have to be careful that the cohesion in our population does not crumble and no group is left behind.
In concrete terms, our society should keep a better eye on the very old and the very young.
It is, for example, an indictment of poverty that we can no longer
find
enough
caregivers
to allow the generation that built this country to live in dignity.
And it cannot be that a country like Germany is not in a position
to provide
the
technical infrastructure
so that our children
can learn optimally
even during
Corona
- even though they are the future of our society.
Can you also get something positive out of Corona?
Fischer:
Yes, of course there are too.
First of all, the great experience that a special team spirit has developed in our clinics.
And what we can all achieve when we stand together.
What are you up to?
Fischer:
In the
intensive care unit
, for example, I saw how
nurses,
shortly before retirement age, toiled for hours in heavy protective equipment, even though they had physical problems themselves.
Nevertheless, they continued to the point of total exhaustion so as not to let the patients and their colleagues down.
Or the colleagues who of course also
help out
in our
vaccination tent
to vaccinate the other colleagues.
Such an attitude is anything but natural.
That made a deep impression on me.
And at the same time I am called upon to provide relief here.
Corona: "You learn to appreciate the little things more again"
Has Corona - apart from the contact restrictions - also changed anything in your private life?
Fischer:
Yes.
You inevitably come back to appreciating the little things more.
How nice would it be to meet another family with our children again.
This is ultimately more important than the question of which
travel the country
has not seen it and could trigger next.
Are you personally afraid of a corona infection?
Fischer:
Of course I know how badly
Corona
can end.
But I am a disease repeller, push away such fears.
If anything, I'm more driven by the idea that because of long-term
damage
after
Corona
, I could
no longer lead the same life as before.
Many doctors and nurses have been working on the attack since spring. How much longer can your colleagues hold out?
Fischer:
That will depend on how we deal with them in the next few months.
This time - as after the first wave - we will not be able to go full throttle straight away, for example to catch up on postponed operations.
We have to
cautiously ramp up
regular operations in the clinics
- also at the risk of the economic figures not being right.
Otherwise we will scare off more and more employees.
At some point there has to be an
end to the higher, faster, further mentality
in our society.
Corona: Munich clinic boss Dr.
Fischer demands better pay for nurses
Do you think your caregivers make enough money?
Fischer:
The
importance of care
is
not adequately
reflected in the
remuneration
system.
Caregivers should be given more responsibility in many areas - and that responsibility should also be reflected in higher pay.
The politicians assert like a prayer wheel that they want to upgrade the nursing profession. Little has happened so far. What exactly has to change?
Fischer:
First of all, the basic attitude in our
health system
.
It is often said that doctors make money and care costs.
That's nonsense.
Both professional groups create value in
patient health
.
Politicians
must take this
into account and intervene more strongly.
How specific?
Fischer:
There is money in our
health system
.
But too much of it is spent on the extremely lucrative remuneration for medical services, which primarily serve the economic interests of some clinics or practice operators.
Some of these horrific sums could be redistributed - for example in favor of
care services
that benefit all patients.
The interview was conducted by Andreas Beez. * tz.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network.
Follow the Corona events in Munich in our current news ticker *.
You can find more news from the state capital on our Munich section page.
