Another doctor's surgery closed

Dr. Frank Klein has closed his practice in Menzingen. According to former patients, he cannot be contacted, and some of the patients cannot obtain their patient files. He is also said to have sent invoices for services that he did not provide.

A week ago, we reported on the case of family doctor Murat Yilmaz. He has been unreachable for his patients since the end of April, and soe of them have not been able to access their patient documents.

Something similar is currently happening in another mountain community in Zug. Frank Klein's GP practice in Menzingen is also closed and he is not answering calls or emails. He last made a name for himself at the end of January, following a police operation in front of his medical practice. As we reported, three people were taken away in handcuffs after the police had received an emergency call. The police did not expand further on the incident at the time.

Several people who have had negative experiences with the GP have now spoken to the Zuger Zeitung newspaper. Some of them have not received their patient files or have received dubious invoices for medication and services that they never received.

There is now only the medical centre for healthcare in Menzingen                              Archive photo: Stefan Kaiser
 

Services billed twice
One woman describes how she received an invoice with items such as "specialist psychotherapeutic counselling": a service that Frank Klein could not provide with his training as a general practitioner. Another woman says that she accompanied her husband to each of his medical examinations. He doesn't understand everything because of his age, so she went with him. "Frank Klein charged us twice for these visits. Including the medication that my husband received."

In another case, a father wanted to take his daughter to the doctor and found the practice door locked, and the doctor could not be reached by phone. "We then decided to change GPs," says the man. There was some time pressure, as the Menzingen Medical Centre had informed them that there was not much capacity left. The man has not yet received the patient records of his two daughters and his wife from his family's former GP. And he has learned that the Menzingen Medical Centre was no longer able to accept patients.

As the head doctor at the Menzingen Medical Centre was absent last Friday, her staff did not want to provide any information for the time being. It was therefore not possible to verify whether admissions had been stopped.

Health Directorate is in contact with the doctor
The municipality of Menzingen is also aware of the developments surrounding Frank Klein's medical practice. Municipal clerk Fabian Arnet informs that it is closed and no longer open. There is currently no contact with Dr. Klein.

The Department of Health, on the other hand, has contact, according to cantonal doctor Rudolf Hauri. He also confirmed that the operator had himself definitively closed the practice. They have also heard that the invoices in question have been sent, but are unable to assess them. The Health Directorate is not aware of any connection between Frank Klein's practice in Menzingen and that of Murat Yilmaz in Unterägeri. Nor is it making any assumptions.

"For basic medical care, the residents of Menzingen only have access to the local medical centre," says municipal clerk Fabian Arnet. The patients of Frank Klein's medical practice would have to look for a new doctor, "possibly also in the neighbouring municipalities". In some cases, "we are aware of the questionable invoices and missing patient dossiers". Fabian Arnet recommends that unjustified invoices should not be paid, and that legal action should be taken in the event of debt collection.

Those affected can contact the Social Affairs and Health Department (Abteilung Soziales und Gesundheit) of the municipality of Menzingen.  (Phone: +41 41 757 22 30).