Patients face uncertainty after concerns over treatments at Randers Regional Psychiatry Hospital in Denmark

Patients and their families are facing significant uncertainty after concerns emerged about potentially inappropriate treatments at the Randers Regional Psychiatry Hospital. The organization Bedre Psykiatri expressed alarm following the announcement from Region Midtjylland regarding doubts about the evaluations and treatments conducted by a consulting physician at the facility. Consequently, a review of 1,500 patient records has begun to assess whether the care provided met acceptable standards.

“This is fundamentally an incredibly unsettling situation for the many patients and their families who have been under the care of the physician in question,” stated Bedre Psykiatri’s General Secretary, Jane Alrø Sørensen. She emphasized that patients do not know if errors have occurred in their cases, making it critical for the review of these 1,500 records to take place.

The hospital administration became aware of the issue through a report to the region’s whistleblower system, as explained by Tina Ebler, the director of psychiatry for Region Midtjylland. “We reviewed 13 specific patient files and found that the treatments fell below the professional standards that should be upheld,” she noted. As a result, a team of specialist doctors has been tasked with examining the records of patients treated by the physician in question.

This group of patients may be less likely to speak out if they believe that mistakes have been made, according to Sørensen. The physician was placed on leave earlier this year, and the situation has also led to the resignation of the department leadership at Randers Regional Psychiatry.

The Liberal Party within the regional council is now demanding a report from regional chair Anders Kühnau regarding the issues at Randers Psychiatry. Party spokesperson Anders G. Christensen has called for greater transparency, stating that the council needs to be informed about the unfolding situation. Affected patients whose evaluations or treatments did not align with established guidelines and standards will be contacted by the psychiatry department in Region Midtjylland.