Press Council partially approves complaint by St. Gallen hospital associations against Blick
The Swiss Press Council has partially upheld a complaint by the Board of Directors of the Hospital Association of the Canton of St. Gallen against Blick. In a report about the cantonal hospital in Wil and a sick girl, important information was omitted.
This is the conclusion reached by the Press Council in its statement published on Thursday, according to SDA. On February 19, Blick reported under the title "We are afraid that Alisha will die" about a baby who was fighting for her life because pneumonia had been mistaken for a harmless cold at Wil Hospital. The Fürstenland-Toggenburg hospital region responded the same day with a media briefing. It said that the staff at the Wil emergency ward had not sent the parents home but, contrary to the Blick story, had advised them to contact the Eastern Switzerland Children's Hospital in St. Gallen immediately.
On February 20, Blick continued its coverage of the case. According to the Press Council, the tabloid unfairly gave the impression that Wil Hospital had not responded to the parents' accusation of medical malpractice with serious objections, but with "hair-raising excuses". Based on the requirement not to withhold important information, however, the newspaper would have been obliged to at least present the hospital's point of view in a concise and fair manner, writes the Press Council in its statement.
On February 20, Blick continued its coverage of the case. According to the Press Council, the tabloid unfairly gave the impression that Wil Hospital had not responded to the parents' accusation of medical malpractice with serious objections, but with "hair-raising excuses". Based on the requirement not to withhold important information, however, the newspaper would have been obliged to at least present the hospital's point of view in a concise and fair manner, writes the Press Council in its statement.
