Many Danes may have been needlessly amputated

These are bone amputations – in the hip, thigh, knee or lower leg – that were performed at Aarhus University Hospital without the need for it.

An external investigation of the operation showed that patients with atherosclerosis or severe hernia did not receive or did not receive preventive treatment in a timely manner, Danish media reported when the Central Jutland region announced the result of the investigation.

National politicians interact

The hospital director, Ole Thomsen, says he is very sad and regrets what happened.

– Up to 90 patients a year undergo an amputation that could have been avoided, he tells Danmarks Radio.

Although the district believes that most of the amputations may have occurred for good reasons, it is now working to strengthen the hospital ward in question.

Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunick (S) has demanded that the region report on what this could be like. It is controlled by his party comrades.

“It is absolutely unacceptable that amputations are performed as a result of missing or delaying treatment,” he wrote in a comment to Ritzau.

– In short, a scandal, says Sophie Lode, a health care spokeswoman for the opposition Liberal Party, who will demand an answer from the Minister of Health.

‘It just shouldn’t happen’

– It is a very terrible situation for patients, as you have lost your mobility due to waiting periods in care. That shouldn’t be possible, says Morten Friel, who leads Denmark’s largest patient association.

Patients can apply for compensation. Central Jutland contacts patients who have had an amputation in the last year to tell them where to go with any complaints.