Patient allegedly turned off roommate's ventilator because sound 'annoyed' her
A patient from Germany has been detained by authorities after she turned off her hospital roommate's breathing device, saying she was "annoyed" by the sound it made.
In a joint press release by the public prosecutor's office and the police headquarters in Mannheim, Germany, the 72-year-old woman was put behind bars on suspicion of attempted manslaughter after she turned off the main switch of the oxygen device of her 79-year-old roommate.
The woman committed the act not once, but twice, at an unspecified time before 8:00 p.m. and another time around 9:00 p.m. This was in spite of being told by the hospital staff that her roommate was dependent on the mechanical oxygen supply.
According to the press release, the cause of this is because the woman "felt disturbed by the noise coming from the oxygen device."
With the ventilator switched off, the patient nearly died and had to be revived by the hospital staff. Despite the successful resuscitation, she still needed intensive care.
The suspect was brought before an investigating judge of the district court in Mannheim and was taken to a correctional facility after a warrant of arrest had been issued. Investigations around the incident remain ongoing.