ARD Report on the Corona outbreak in Hanns-Lilje-Heim Wolfsburg

reThe Hanns-Lilje-Heim in Wolfsburg is probably the building in Germany where the coronavirus has been unleashed the most so far. After the first illness was diagnosed at the diaconal facility on March 18 of this year, a total of 47 people died. Therefore, the newspaper “Bild” called the house for dementia patients, which is named after the former regional bishop of Hannover, a “house of terror”.

The building is ideal for such descriptions: stone gray loophole architecture as in a prison, which, in combination with a cloudy sky, results in oppressive images. However, the ARD report by Arnd Henze and Sonja Kättner-Neumann looks behind the weathered façade of Hanns-Lilje-Heim. The perspectives of the staff, the sick and the relatives differ, they are only the same in the despair that everyone felt in March. A nurse tells how she always had the phone in hand to speak with relatives, while at the same time she had to try to help the dying in their last hours.

Drumming and sweeping

A total of 112 of the 160 residents contracted the virus, in addition to more than 40 nurses. The infected and the uninfected had to be strictly separated from each other, which, however, was difficult. Those with dementia develop a strong urge to walk. “They were out again after two minutes,” says a nurse, as a resident wanders through the camera image. Locking up dementia patients led desperate residents to knock on doors and rampage. Finally, in more than seventy cases, the uninfected were sedated based on a court decision.

The home outfitting with protective clothing and masks was completely inadequate at the time, as were the testing capabilities in Wolfsburg. Mayor Klaus Mohrs recounts how the city fought over the material, received approval and soon after another rejection. In Hanns-Lilje-Heim, families were not allowed to visit their relatives and could hardly influence their treatment. Doctors sometimes failed to coordinate with family members who were entitled to care. The daughter of a deceased resident says her father was transferred to the Wolfsburg Clinic for a day, then sent back. Without oxygen, but with a little morphine and with the stipulation not to return to the hospital.

Was that already a triage to keep hospital beds free for younger and more promising patients? The city of Wolfsburg says no. However, questions remain. One of the three doctors who dared to enter the house at that time speaks very openly in front of the camera: Ventilation would only have been a palliative measure for the residents of the house. In general, one should imagine a home as a “point of no return.” Therefore, a corona infection can only be countered “with resources on board.” The president of the German Ethics Council, Christiane Woopen, disagrees. People with dementia also have the right to receive treatment, including intensive therapy. The approach in Wolfsburg “was certainly not correct”, at best excusable under the circumstances at the time. “Who should I ask?” Answers the doctor. “There was nobody there”.

So who is to blame for the dead in Wolfsburg? The movie ARD raises this question, but the answer is lost in the exceptional situation. Behind the gray walls of Hanns-Lilje-Heim, many have probably done their best without being able to avoid death. It is precisely for this reason that the film, which is unfortunately only shown late, comes at the right time in view of the rapidly increasing number of infections. The fight against Covid-19 cannot be won in nursing homes. The responsibility of the most vulnerable falls on everyone’s shoulders, not just the nursing staff.