The Kirchberg Rehabilitation Centre has sacked a psychiatrist because he did not want to sign a contract, according to RTL information.
Marc Graas has treated patients at the centre since 2018 as the sole psychiatrist – without ever having signed a contract. As of 1 July 2022, the former director of the Centre Hospitalier Neuro-Psychiatrique (CHNP) in Ettelbruck has been barred from the building in Kirchberg. This means that his inpatients can no longer talk to him as their doctor.
At the root of the conflict is an additional clause in the contract, which stipulates that the psychiatrist must pay 20% of his salary to the Rehabilitation Centre. Because Dr Graas rejected this clause, the centre allegedly decided to bar him from the building. This decision was taken by the directorate, and Dr Graas states that he only indirectly found out about this.
The psychiatrist stresses that this decision, which was taken “without notice and without consideration for my patients,” cannot and must not be accepted. Dr Graas argues that he is “needed” at the Rehabilitation Centre, which he still considers to be “a valuable gem” of an institution.
Dr Graas says that he did not do anything wrong and that he merely took issue with the clause stipulating that he would have to pay 20% of his salary to the centre.
The head of the Rehabilitation Centre, Dr Gaston Schütz, confirms that the contract “was and still is the problem”. However, he argues that it is in fact a “model contract,” and that Dr Graas “has to sign it”.
Dr Schütz adds that the directorate is also concerned about the well-being of the patients but assures that they will continue to receive psychiatric support through a cooperation agreement with the CHNP.
Speaking to our colleagues from RTL.lu, Dr Schütz stated that the directorate of the Rehabilitation Centre met with the CHNP from Ettelbruck “last week”. According to Dr Schütz, the directorate also already met with several psychiatrists.
Meanwhile, the Director General of the CHNP in Ettelbruck, Mark Ritzen, confirmed to our colleagues from RTL.lu that these discussions with the Rehabilitation Centre did indeed take place.
However, Ritzen said that the CHNP has merely decided to meet with the Kirchberg Centre “in the near future” to assess their needs, based on which both centres will “draft a convention to guarantee psychiatric treatment for patients at the Rehabilitation Centre”.
A potential cooperation agreement between the two centres is thus still in the early stages.
In this context, Dr Schütz specified that the centre may have to rely on “emergency psychiatry” this week.
The head of the Rehabilitation Centre, a public institution, claims that the contract presented to Dr Graas is a “model contract” and that the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL) would, for instance, also ask its doctors for 20% of their salaries.
However, the Association of Doctors and Dentists (AMMD) denies that this 20% clause is a normal or legitimate demand from a hospital or rehabilitation centre.
The Director General of the Rehabilitation Centre states that he is “willing to compromise” for “the sake of the patients,” and because of Dr Graas’ excellent work.
Dr Graas, meanwhile, also says that he is willing to compromise.
Whether or not both parties will come to an agreement, it seems that, for the sake of the patients, the country’s politicians might also need to intervene in this case.
Video report in Luxembourgish:
