We had an extremely distressing experience at the emergency room on March 6, 2025, around 10 a.m. Upon arrival, the receptionist treated us with shocking aggression, yelling at my wife for coming to the ER instead of visiting a general practitioner. My wife, already feeling unwell, was verbally mistreated to the point where she calmly asked for her documents back, stating, “I may be sick, but I won’t allow myself to be treated this way.”
We were eventually let through, as both my wife, my 1-year-old son, and I were all ill. Not being from Germany, we weren’t familiar with local procedures, but after a week of ongoing symptoms, going to the emergency room felt like the right decision. In our home country, we would never have been treated this way.
While we understand cultural differences, treating sick patients with basic humanity should be universal. I truly hope the hospital leadership never has to experience this kind of treatment themselves or with their loved ones. No one should.