Patient's life support equipment was 'turned off twice' for the worst reason

A pensioner reportedly turned off a patient's ventilator twice due to its annoying sound.

Hatun C, 72, "felt disturbed" by the machine providing oxygen to a fellow patient.

In a joint press release published by the Mannheim public prosecutor’s office and Mannheim police, authorities alleged the woman switched off the ventilator before 8pm one night in November.

"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.

Medics revived the 79-year-old patient, who sadly died from oxygen starvation complications.

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According to the Daily Mail, Hatun C's son has since spoken out to the German media, saying that the "bed neighbour made such a loud noise."

"My mother couldn't close her eyes there because the oxygen device of her bed neighbour made such a loud noise, like a tractor," he added. "She was exhausted and high on medication. But she didn't want to harm the woman. It was an act of desperation."

Hatun C. has since been jailed on suspicion of manslaughter, and her son is concerned "she'll die there" after claiming she had "no idea what she was doing."

He added: "My mother can neither read nor write, she only understands Turkish, how should she have understood this announcement by the German nurse?

"In addition, she has no idea about machines. Otherwise, she would never have done something like this.

"My mother should have been moved to another room, and at the very least, we should have been informed immediately, then it would never have come to this."

He apologised for her actions: "I would like to apologise for all the suffering my mother brought to the 79-year-old's family.

"My mother herself was a victim of these intolerable circumstances in the clinic.

"She deeply regrets everything and asks for forgiveness."

In response, the daughter of the deceased woman said: "That woman probably killed my mother. I can't forgive her for that."

Investigations are ongoing.

A spokesperson for Mannheim police told indy100: "The suspect allegedly turned off the oxygen device of a fellow patient twice because the alarm prevented her from sleeping. Both women were together in a hospital room on a covid isolation ward in a local hospital in Mannheim. The victim, who suffered from numerous previous illnesses, died on the 17th of December 2022. Whether the shutdown of the oxygen device was causal for the victim's death is the subject of further investigations. An autopsy has been done; results are pending. The suspect is still imprisoned on suspicion of (attempted) manslaughter."

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