Wiener of the week

Service to people instead of service by the book

Right in front of the hospital entrance, a car driver suffered a heart attack while driving at full speed and received help immediately.

(Bild: Peter Tomschi)

Doctors help patients. And some doctors help patients without hesitation, even if they have to break the rules to do so, as was recently the case at the Böhler Hospital in Brigittenau after a dramatic accident right outside the door of the hospital, which is still partially closed.

When trauma surgeons hear a loud noise outside the door, they check to see if they are needed. This probably saved the life of a car driver in Vienna recently. She suffered a heart attack at the wheel in front of the Böhler Hospital and her car came to a standstill right at the stop sign in front of the hospital entrance.

When doctors get it wrong in the best possible way
But it's about more than just a stroke of luck and doctors doing their job - because they treated the woman immediately in the hospital's trauma room, even though they weren't actually allowed to: It is still officially closed due to fire safety regulations. The fact that the doctors would rather risk an administrative fine and other problems than abandon a patient would probably have been enough for the "Viennese of the week".

But what's more: if you ask the Böhlerians whether this wasn't a difficult decision, you only get quizzical looks. They have already had to ignore the shock room lockdown in other emergencies, but that is "a matter of course". No, of course it's not - but may the Böhlerians never realize how wrong they are.