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Appointment with DESY’s company doctor Katharina Bünz

Press & Communications

Appointment with DESY’s company doctor Katharina Bünz

Doctor Katharina Bünz

Dr Bünz, how has the situation at DESY developed since our conversation at the end of March?
Fortunately, my concern that colleagues might get psychological problems due to isolation has not materialised. This is also due to the fact that much has been done at DESY. The group leaders are very concerned about social issues and the inner cohesion of their teams. For example, they have set up virtual coffee rounds. In addition, there is an exchange via the new chat function. As a result, the topic of isolation has been pushed into the background.

Are there more urgent problems instead?
Yes, parents are suffering from the massive, ongoing double burden of homeschooling and childcare alongside working remotely. I’ve gotten to know many children in video conferences who scurry through the picture at various times. That’s certainly funny at first – but in the long run it’s incredibly stressful for working mothers and fathers.

How can you support them?
I can mainly listen, but when it comes to practical questions, the personnel department is especially helpful. Sonja Gebert and her team are looking for practical solutions for parents who are affected.

How do you generally assess the situation as a result of the new relaxation of rules?
Problematic! There is a feeling emerging at the moment that somehow we will soon be able to work normally again. But that is not the case! There are still the distance and mask rules, which also raise many individual questions. For example: a colleague with chronic bronchitis is worried that laboratory colleagues are getting too close to him. Does he now have to be present every day or can he continue working from home? But the big question above all is: how do we now achieve what the Board of Directors calls "secured normal operation"?

Yes, how?
The most important thing remains the distance rule! In every office, in every job, in every workshop, people everywhere must maintain a minimum distance of 1.5 metres, or better still, 2 metres. If there is no other way, because two people have to share an office, for example, face masks should be worn or a partition wall should be installed.

Does work equipment have to be disinfected?
If, for example, telephones or tools are shared, it is sufficient to wipe them down with normal household-grade soap and water. This is more about the psychological effect than the actual danger. Fortunately, it is not the case that infectious virus particles of SARS-Cov-2 remain on surfaces for a long period of time. More important is frequent handwashing!

In your opinion, what is the greatest danger?
It’s actually the break times, when colleagues sit cozily together and quickly forget about the minimum distance. It is dangerous when we become careless with regard to human-to-human transmission. Therefore, I recommend moving the breaks outside. And then there's the problem of carpooling. It's hard to keep your distance in a car. So I recommend wearing extra masks. The most important thing is to keep distance, distance, distance!

What do you think about antibody tests?
Simply performing across-the-board tests is not useful. The outbreak in Germany, and especially in Hamburg, is by far not widespread enough for that. One person in a hundred is infected. And only about half of those infected show symptoms – far too few. So I don't just do antibody tests on anybody here at DESY based on suspiscion but only in individual cases when I think it makes sense.

When we first spoke, you had encouraging words for the staff. What does your message look like today?
We have learned a lot in the past few weeks, we have taken on a lot and we have achieved so much thanks to the strict measures. It would be a shame if we now gave that away by relaxing the rules. We must manage to get back to a certain level of normality. But until we have a vaccine, it will be a completely different normality. That is why I think that we must try to make the best of the situation every day. Under all circumstances, my message to the staff is: keep being careful!

 

Interview: Kristin Hüttmann

About the company doctor:

Katharina Bünz has been head of the company medical service at DESY since 2009. She holds a doctorate in occupational medicine and internal medicine and has specialized in preventive health protection with additional qualifications in basic psychosomatic care and nutritional medicine. Dr Bünz is responsible for the BGM group (occupational health management), which was created in 2018 and combines health-related services at DESY in addition to the classical occupational medicine.

 

Contact:

BGM Group:
+49 (0) 40 8998 2171
health.service@desy.de

Crisis and Conflict Manager:
Ramona Matthes: +49 (0) 40 8998 4435
ramona.matthes@desy.de

Human Resources:
+49 (0) 40 8998 3628
personal.abteilung@desy.de