The new nurse arrived at the intensive-care unit of Delmenhorst hospital with a solid letter of reference, describing him as someone who worked “independently and conscientiously.” In a crisis, it said, he reacted “with consideration” and was “technically correct.”
It gave no indication that officials at his former hospital in Oldenburg, Germany, had grown deeply suspicious about the number of deaths while the nurse, Niels Högel, was on duty. Or that they had barred him from contact with patients and effectively pushed him out.