Shortly after being admitted to a clinic in Cologne, a young black woman was immobilized with 7-point restraint. The next morning she is dead. The Justice for Priscille initiative is demanding clarification and is calling for a demonstration on Saturday.

After 26-year-old Priscille found herself in a psychological state of emergency on May 21st, she was admitted to the LVR Clinic in Cologne Merheim. According to her family, Priscille suffered from schizophrenia. The following day, Priscille was no longer alive and her family has been trying to determine the cause of death ever since.

Before her death, Priscille was treated with sedatives and a7 point fixationtied to her lounger. There are clear legal regulations for this type of fixation. For long-term fixation, there must be judicial approval and the patient must also be continuously monitored medically. In addition to care, there must also be controlVital signsbe performed.

Priscille's health was recorded as “fine” by a nurse throughout the night. And yet Priscille was found dead that morning by a nurse when she went to take her blood. At this point the body is already cold. After the family couldn't reach Priscille by phone, they tried to find out how she was doing at the clinic. But they received no information and were repeatedly put off. In the end, they only found out about the death of their relatives from a strange doctor.

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Initiative calls for clarification

Currently in progressDeath investigation procedure, which was initiated by the Cologne public prosecutor's office. The aim is to check whether the death was caused by employees of the clinic. An autopsy of the body was also begun, the results of which are not yet publicly known. The LVR clinic is openInstagramcommented on Priscille's case and announced that the case would be “clarified consistently and completely”.

An initiative has now been founded to demand justice for Priscille. The initiative describes the LVR Clinic’s statement as “ridiculous and disrespectful“. They have already publicly called for people to deal with their ownQuestionsto contact the LVR clinic in Merheim.

In addition, the aim of the initiative is to further...casesto make known. The initiative doesn't just have oneFundraising campaignand onepetitionstarted, but is organizing a demonstration on September 26th at 6 p.m. in the forecourt of Cologne Central Station. “We demand justice for Priscille and education in the health system,” says the call for the demonstration.

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The 7-point restraint is “one of the most extreme means of immobilizing someone.” For example, there is also a high risk of choking on your own vomit. "People who are in such a restraint must by law be cared for and observed one-on-one by nursing staff around the clock. The restraint may not be used for longer than 30 minutes without a court order and is extremely dangerous or even life-threatening, especially under the influence of medication," explains the initiative.

Clinic employees under pressure

OppositeRTLTwo employees said that the quality of treatment repeatedly suffered due to the shortage of staff. “We are usually understaffed, so only one person is responsible for many patients,” said an employee. Sometimes she would forego her break because of a bad conscience in order to take care of patients during this time. However, these statements were not directly related to Priscille's case.

"According to reports from former patients and employees, there is chronic understaffing, which, above all, deteriorates the quality of treatment enormously. We want legal information for Priscille, but also political information for everyone. We want our politicians and the LVR to deal with the question of how it could have gotten to this point," demands the initiative.

Clarifying the case is currently the focus of the initiative, but the LVR clinic in Cologne Merheim is only part of a larger problem. According to calculations by the Federal Statistical Office, there will be a total of between 280,000 and 690,000 nursing staff by 2049miss.

And the conditions in the health system will continue to worsen in the future. The federal government passed a health care reform before the summer break, which is putting further pressure on the already ailing system. The planned cap on compensation increases for hospitals, doctors' practices and other service providers is the focus of criticism.

In the future, increases in remuneration should generally be linked to the so-called basic wage rate. If personnel, energy or material costs rise more than the income subject to contributions, the institutions are left with the additional costs.

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This means significantly increasing pressure for employees. If clinics are no longer fully reimbursed for increasing personnel costs, the incentive to reduce staff, leave positions unfilled or postpone necessary investments increases. Many hospital employees are already working under enormous strain. The reform threatens to further exacerbate this development.

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