Choosing Medical Facilities in Switzerland
If you need medical care while visiting Switzerland –or if you visit Switzerland expressly to obtain medical care—avoid the public hospitals.
Switzerland, while well-known abroad for its fancy, high quality private clinics, is equally well-known within the country for its appalling public hospitals.
In the 1990’s, public hospitals such as the Geneva Cantonal Hospital allowed smoking. You could see doctors prowling the corridors with cigarettes hanging off their lips.
OK so those days are gone, but those days were not so long ago.
A little over a week ago Comparis published the first survey of Swiss public hospitals – no one had dared to do such a thing previously—and the contents, while confirming what many people said under their breath, are anyway astounding to see in black and white.
Comparis surveyed 6000 patients. The worst public hospitals in 
Switzerland turned out to be the Geneva’s HUG and Lausanne’s CHUV. One patient out of nine caught an infection at the hospital, one in five had to be re-hospitalized for ‘complications,’ and one patient in four was a victim of a medical error.
Understandably, the hospitals’ directors are contesting this cheeky study which dared to publish such survey results, calling them inaccurate and amateurish.
According to the crude estimates of Zurich’s Dr. Marc-Anton Hochreutener, 3000 people die each year in Switzerland from medical errors. For Dr. Hochreutener, there are three areas needing improvement. First: errors in medication – either the wrong medication or an incorrect dosage. Second: communication problems. Swiss hospitals are deep into the culture of secrecy. Swiss hospital staff rarely admit to making mistakes. And you can’t sue for malpractice in Switzerland the way you can in North America. Thirdly: cleanliness – there is major problem with medical staff not adequately washing their hands. Improper hygiene is responsible for numerous infections, notably staphylococcus.
The bottom line for visitors who find themselves in need of medical attention: you’re much better off choosing one of the many fine private hospitals or clinics.
