Three highly specialized senior doctors have left Rigshospitalet’s liver transplant department after being suspended, and Region Hovedstaden has summoned hospital management to an extraordinary meeting on October 26, 2026.
The departures concern the Department of Transplantation and Diseases of the Digestive System at Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen. DR reports that the three doctors were first relieved of duty and are now leaving the hospital altogether.
The department is the only one in Denmark that performs liver transplants, including transplants on children. According to DR, two surgeons left the department earlier in 2026. Five senior doctors then wrote to the hospital’s management and to Region Hovedstaden.
In that letter, the doctors raised concerns about patient safety and described what they called an acute staffing problem. They also directed sharp criticism at the management style in the department. Three of the five were subsequently sent home and are now ending their employment.
Politicians want answers on patient safety and free speech
Christoffer Buster Reinhardt, a Conservative member of the regional council and chair of the region’s health committee, called the hospital’s management in for questioning. Per DR, he says he is concerned about whether enough surgeons can carry out pediatric liver transplants. He also questions whether the remaining surgeons hold the right competencies.
Reinhardt says he wants to get to the bottom of why the three doctors were relieved of duty. As reported by DR, he notes that questions have been raised about whether the letter of concern led to the suspensions and later dismissals. He adds that freedom of expression for public employees must apply fully, including at Rigshospitalet.
In a written response to DR, the hospital’s management says Rigshospitalet can vouch for the treatment of patients, also in the current situation. Management adds that it is working to hire new specialists. Since the first letter, nurses and other doctors in the department have also sent letters of concern.
The meeting takes place at 9 a.m. on October 26, 2026, in Region Hovedstaden’s executive committee, where the hospital’s directors must account for the case.
What other outlets have reported
Dagens Medicin, citing Sundhedsmonitor, reported on October 22, 2026 that the three doctors entered a departure agreement with Rigshospitalet. According to that coverage, they had been suspended on October 8, 2026.
Politiken reported on October 22, 2026, in an article updated on October 25, that the three doctors were dismissed after five senior doctors submitted a warning letter about working conditions. Politiken adds that two other doctors had left the department voluntarily.
What the Rigshospitalet case means for international residents
Hospitals in Denmark are run by the five regions, and Rigshospitalet belongs to Region Hovedstaden. The most complex procedures are centralized at a single site, which is why liver transplants are performed only at Rigshospitalet. Anyone with a CPR number and a yellow health card has access to this system, as explained in our guide to how healthcare in Denmark works, normally after referral from a general practitioner or another hospital department.
For patients, the practical consequence is that there is no second Danish center to turn to for a liver transplant. Rigshospitalet’s management states it can still vouch for patient treatment and is recruiting new specialists. What is not yet known is what today’s meeting in the executive committee will conclude about staffing and competencies.
The case also touches on the rules that apply to public employees in Denmark, including those working here on a foreign passport. Reinhardt says freedom of expression for public employees must apply in full at the hospital. No finding has been published on whether the letter of concern caused the suspensions, and that is one of the questions politicians have put to management.
