22: A tale of two hospitals: the pandemic and its aftermath in Berlin and London – with Professor Heyo Kroemer and Professor Tim Orchard

The Health Foundation podcast

The pandemic challenged every health care system in the world. But what can we learn from one another aboutin the way we responded, and how we might improve for future threats?

In this episode we look up close at the experience of two large academic teaching hospitals embedded in two different health care systems – the Charité in Berlin, Germany’s largest teaching hospital, and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in London, one of the UK’s largest.

How do these two health care systems compare when dealing with the pandemic and its aftermath? And what can we learn?

Our Chief Executive Dr Jennifer Dixon is joined by:

• Professor Heyo Kroemer, chief executive of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, one of the largest hospitals in Europe. A pharmacologist by trade, Heyo joined Charité in 2019 from the University of Göttingen’s Medical Center, where he held the positions of Dean and Chairman of the Managing Board.
  
• Professor Tim Orchard, chief executive of Imperial College Healthcare. NHS Trust. A consultant physician and gastroenterologist, Tim was appointed chief executive in June 2018 after having been the director of clinical studies at St Mary’s Hospital.

Show notes

• How does the NHS compare internationally? big election questions (2017) The King’s Fund
• NHS hospital beds data analysis (2022) BMA
• How does the UK compare internationally for health funding, staffing and hospital beds? (2017) The Health Foundation
• Performance of UK National Health Service compared with other high income countries: observational study (2019) BMJ
• What can England learn from the long-term care system in Germany? (2019) Nuffield Trust
• Taxes and health care funding: how does the UK compare? (2021) The Health Foundation