Stock photo of a patient on a ventilator
(Picture: PA Archive)A 72-year-old woman has been arrested in Germany after she allegedly switched off a hospital roommate’s ventilator because she was annoyed by the noise it made.
The woman was detained on suspicion of attempted manslaughter following the incident at a hospital in the southwestern city of Mannheim on Tuesday evening.
Police and prosecutors said in a statement that the suspect is alleged to have switched off a 79-year-old woman’s ventilator and, despite then being told by staff that it was vital for the patient, switched it off again later in the evening.
The older patient had to be revived and, while her life is not in danger, still requires intensive care, authorities said.
The suspect was brought before a judge on Wednesday and taken to jail.
A joint press release published by the Mannheim public prosecutor’s office and Mannheim police alleged the woman switched off the ventilator before 8pm after she “felt disturbed by the noise coming from the oxygen device”.
“Although the suspect was informed by the hospital staff that the oxygen supply was a vital measure, she is said to have switched off the device again around 9pm,” the statement read.
The suspect was brought before a judge on Wednesday and taken to jail. Investigations are ongoing.
