With 4,515 votes, Dr Bernard Thill was elected Luxembourg’s Man of the Year 2022. Our colleagues from RTL Télé met the retired physician in Bonnevoie.
Dr Thill considers it his life’s purpose to help the sick. For 35 years, he worked at the hospital in Esch-sur-Alzette, where he developed the hospital’s palliative care service. Since his retirement in 2017, he has been an active member of Médecins du monde (“Doctors of the World”).
“It was important to me to not just close the book on my medical practice when I retired,” Dr Thill explains, “I wanted to use what I learned and experienced and pass it on to other people, especially those whom life had not been kind to.”
Dr Thill works as a volunteer, along with around 140 other people who are also active members of the association. Many have backgrounds in healthcare or social services.
In 2022, Dr Thill and his team treated 1,500 people at their locations in Esch and Bonnevoie. Their patients have no access to the National Health Fund (CNS) or the healthcare system as a whole. “Everyone who comes to us has mental scars, has experienced trauma. They are not seen by society and are not registered anywhere. But they are still human,” Dr Thill stresses.
The NGO estimates that around 3,000 people in Luxembourg do not have health insurance.
One of the NGO’s goals is to increase awareness about the existence of these people and their right to healthcare. “As Luxembourgers, we cannot accept living in a society where poor people are not treated as human beings,” according to the physician.
For this reason, Dr Thill sees his title as “Luxembourg’s Man of the Year 2022" as a reward of the entire team’s efforts.
“I’m very grateful to everyone who voted for me because, while they may have voted for me, they actually voted for a lot more people,” Dr Thill says, referring to his entire team at Médecins du monde as well as “everyone in Luxembourg who cares for those living in poverty.” Dr Thill describes his award as “a major symbol of the solidarity that exists in our society, and I think that’s such a beautiful message to set the tone for 2023.”
As a physician, Dr Thill wants to continue helping the vulnerable and sick. Meanwhile, as president of Médecins du monde, he wants to give these special patients a voice.
When asked about his wishes for the new year, Dr Thill says that he wishes for solidarity to grow even bigger and that the Grand Duchy’s political leaders would “get the message” and include the topic in their election manifestos. “I wish that Luxembourg will be a country of solidarity and compassion,” Dr Thill concludes.
Video report by RTL Télé (in Luxembourgish):
RTL News: Hei de Verdikt vun den RTL.lu-User: D’Karen van Hout an den Dr. Bernard Thill sinn Är Lëtzebuerger 2022!
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RTL News: Lëtzebuergerin vum Joer 2022 - Karen van Hout: “Et ass eng Éier, enger Persoun op senge leschten Deeg eng Freed ze maachen”
