BASED ON A TRUE STORY
- [theme music playing] - [woman vocalizing]
[indistinct whispering]
THE NURSE
[Pernille] Okay, um,
so I keep an eye on the medicine room, count stock.
[Niels] Take photos, check the rubbish.
- [Pernille sighs] Syringes, medication. -[Niels] Find evidence.
[Pernille] Observe her, but without her noticing.
[door beeps]
[camera shutter clicking]
[shutter clicking]
- [shutter clicks] - [panting]
[Trine] So we have, uh, Anne Lise Poulsen, 84, pneumonia, possible sepsis.
She's in terminal care.
Yeah, we'll manage her pain.
Yeah, and in 31, we have Maggi Margrethe Rasmussen.
She fell at home and was admitted this morning.
A bit confused, but according to her partner, she always is.
[Christina] Okay, got it.
[Trine] She needs to stay in overnight for observation for cerebral haemorrhage,
but she's 100% stable.
- [Christina] Perfect. Thanks. See ya. - [Trine] See ya.
[Ditte] You have the high-risk group, Pernille.
- Pernille? - Oh, yeah.
[Ditte] Yeah, we have Henrik in room 38. He has epilepsy.
He took the wrong meds at home by mistake.
- Uh-huh. - [Ditte] Viggo Holm Petersen in room 35.
Sixty-six years old, had cancer for a while.
And his vitals are really bad.
So in the event of cardiac arrest don't resuscitate.
- Okay, fine. - Good. Here you are.
Ta.
Let's go then. [snaps fingers]
[Pernille] Hi.
- Hi. - Hello.
My name is Pernille, one of the nurses. I'm on shift here tonight.
[wife] Viggo got bladder cancer a couple of years ago,
so his immune system's not at its best.
No, but he's on a course of antibiotics.
- Uh, that should make his fever go down. - Yeah.
- [Pernille] Feeling any better, Viggo? - Yeah.
[sighs] Yeah, well, it certainly looks better.
[Viggo] You won't get rid of me any time soon.
[laughing]
So, um, we can go then?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you can go.
Yeah, you can say good night.
- Thank you. - [Pernille] You're welcome.
- Night, Dad. - [wife] Good night, darling.
Good night.
[wife] Night.
[Desirée] Did you actually watch it? I thought it was a complete waste of time.
And would you believe, it's actually Trine's favourite show.
[laughs] Yeah, but Trine has really weird taste.
[chuckling]
- [Desirée] In TV shows and in men. - [Marlene laughing]
Did you watch it to the end?
[Desirée] Yeah, but, uh, I never really believed that he actually did it.
That's six hours of my life I'll never get back.
[Marlene laughs] No, it might be
because it was supposed to be someone else.
- [Desirée] Hmm. - [Marlene] I like Midsomer Murders best.
[door beeps]
[line ringing]
[Niels] So then, what's going on?
- I feel like she's keeping an eye on me. - Yeah?
She's looking at me oddly, like I'm up to something, you know.
Do you think she's onto you?
- [sighs] - No, no. She can't be.
Yeah, but look,
if you're feeling too uncomfortable, we can leave it.
Uh, we can do this another time.
- No, we do it now. - You sure?
- Yeah, I can do this. - Okay.
- Marlene, are you actually serious? - Yeah.
And I really like that every episode is a new story.
And there are so many episodes, it just goes on and on. I like that.
[Desirée] Really?
Well, I guess it's kind of good that there's a new story each time.
- [Marlene] Yeah, exactly. - [Desirée] Yeah.
- [beeping] - [nurses continue chattering]
What's going on?
[laboured breathing]
[laboured breathing continues]
[gasps]
[sniffles]
[clears throat]
I'll be right back.
[gasps]
Uh, so I think Anne Lise from room 34 is feeling worse.
- What? - Hmm.
Uh, you check on them then?
No, I'll go find Marlene. Then we'll check.
I'll keep you posted.
[door beeps]
[panting]
I think Christina gave a patient diazepam.
[Niels] Shit! Who?
Viggo Holm Petersen.
Okay, but did he go into cardiac arrest?
No, but his heart rhythm's unstable, and oxygen's falling.
- And, uh, his breathing's difficult. - Okay. Okay.
- And there's white liquid in the IV. - Really?
- This is serious. - Um, yeah, and I've removed it.
- Did you see her administer it? - Uh, no.
Okay, but did you see her leave the room then?
No.
Okay. [sighs]
- [sighs] - Okay, so what-- what are you saying?
It's great that you've got the IV,
but you need to prove that she's the one administering it.
Otherwise, we have nothing to give the police.
Pernille, you there?
[Pernille] Yeah, but I have to go back to Viggo now.
Okay.
We have a death.
[Christina] I'll get Marina.
[Marina] Time of death, 8:30 p.m.
[sighs]
Can you take it from here?
Marina, can you come with me to check on Anne Lise now?
[Marina] Yes.
What's wrong with Anna Lise?
[Christina] Her breathing's really irregular.
[Niels] You have to find proof that she's the one doing it.
Record the hour of death as 8:37.
[Pernille] We've got two deaths.
- [Niels] Who? - Viggo Holm Petersen, Anne Lise Poulsen.
Okay.
I don't know what the fuck she thinks she's doing.
I thought she put them into cardiac arrest so she could save them.
In a mad kind of way, I understood it.
It made sense to me, to get attention
and to give her life some meaning.
But the two tonight,
we'd been told not to resuscitate in the event of cardiac arrest,
so she just killed them.
It's like she has to be as extreme as possible.
She's gone completely off the rails.
[exhales]
[Marlene] He's not breathing properly, so you need to examine him right away.
Uh, Marlene, are you all right doing that?
[Christina] I'm on it.
[panting]
Hi. What's your name?
- [man] Svend Mor. - [Christina] Svend.
We'll be right with you. Wheel him in there, okay?
[paramedic] Okay.
[patient] Anyone there?
- Oh, hi, Maggi. - [Maggi] Hi.
[Pernille] Hey, what are you doing here?
Well, my boyfriend Erik kindly packed my iPad so I could play on it.
I want to play solitaire.
- Oh. - But I can't find it.
Oh, right.
Well, then let's go to your room and see if we can find it, okay?
It's right there.
- Ah, silly me. - [chuckles]
- I'm really sorry about that. - It's really no problem.
- You're so sweet. - [chuckles]
- [door closes] - [Maggi sighs]
- And, Maggi, next time... - Mm?
All you have to do is pull on here, and we'll come.
- [Maggi] Yeah. - Okay?
Have you got a fella?
Uh, yeah, kind of.
I really like mine. Still has a licence, you know.
[pager beeping, vibrating]
[Christina] Get an emergency kit for Svend. And get the defib!
[panting] Come on, come on, come on!
Get the adrenaline ready and a big suction catheter.
[panting]
- Let me do it. - Yeah.
[panting]
[nurse] I'll take it from here.
[Christina] Okay.
[doctor] We don't have a shockable rhythm. Continue compressions.
- Who do we have here? - We have a COPD patient.
Admitted 15 minutes ago with respiratory trouble.
[doctor] Anything else?
[Christina] Critical. Changing from tachycardia to atrial fibrillation.
Now ventricular fibrillation, no measurable pulse.
- [doctor 2] Thanks. - [doctor] Rhythm check.
- Stop heart compressions. Charging. - [device powers up]
All clear. Mask clear.
- Defibrillation. - [loud thud]
Continue compressions.
We need adrenaline, one milligram.
[Christina] Adrenaline.
Hey! Adrenaline. Adrenaline.
- [nurse 2] I'll get ready to intubate. - One milligram adrenaline. [exhales]
- [nurse] The adrenaline's injected. - [doctor] Charging.
- All clear. Mask clear. Defibrillation. - [loud thud]
Continue compressions.
Do we have a shockable rhythm?
- [device powers up] - Charging.
All clear, remove oxygen. Defibrillation.
[loud thud]
How long has he been in cardiac arrest?
- Is there a pulse? - [nurse] No pulse.
- [flatlining] - [doctor] Do we all agree that we stop?
[doctor 2 grunts]
[doctor] Stop chest compressions.
Record time of death.
23:30.
[exhales] Three deaths on this fucking shift. It's unbelievable.
[nurse 2] Yeah, poor you. But you know what?
Some shifts are just plain horrible, you know.
[exhales] I just feel like I could have done something.
[nurse 2] Nothing you could have done. You were amazing.
[Christina] Hmm.
[Pernille exhales]
-We had a third death. - [Niels sighs] For fuck's sake.
[Pernille] I looked in the room for syringes
- But I couldn't find anything. -[Niels] Right.
[Pernille] I'm really worried that she's found me out.
[Niels] Okay.
[Pernille] I can't hold it together.
- I think she can sense it. - [Niels] Right.
Hi, Pernille.
Hi, Pia.
Oh, Marlene says goodbye. She went straight home.
- Said you've had a crazy shift. - [Pernille] Yeah.
- Yeah, you can say that again. - [Pia] Mm, that's shit.
Hi.
[Pia] Hi.
Um... his family are on their way here.
Will you help me prepare?
Yeah, of course I will. [gasps]
[Christina] Busy night for the Dream Team, huh?
You okay?
Anything wrong?
No, no, no, no. Uh, don't know what happened earlier.
[Christina] It can happen to anyone.
I've run to over 200 alarms, and it still gets to me.
- [Pernille] You really can't tell. - Yeah.
It's 'cause I hide it well.
Oh.
I'm always afraid to fail.
We have a strange job, right?
One foot wrung is all it takes.
One foot wrung, someone dies.
[strikes match]
[Pernille sniffles]
[exhales]
Well, go find a room and take a nap.
[patient screaming]
[paramedic] The patient has severe abdominal pain
and took paracetamol an hour ago.
- They told us room 36. - [Pernille] It's my room. Take her there.
- Will you find some sedatives for me? - [gasping]
[Pernille] Won't take long.
[gasping]
[exhales]
[gasps]
[exhales]
[lightly exhales]
Karina, see if you can get some rest now.
We have a new patient.
- A young woman. - [Niels sighs]
-[Pernille] But I'm looking out for her. - [Niels] Good.
[Pernille] I can't let her kill again.
- [knock on door] - Hi, Maggi.
[Maggi] Hi.
- [Pernille] Shall I take that? - Yeah.
Oh. Sleep tight.
Thank you, dear.
[switch clicks]
[machines beeping]
- Hey! Maggi's gotten worse. - [gasps]
[machines beeping fast]
- [Maggi coughing] - Maggi, what's wrong?
- [Maggi] I'm just a bit dizzy. - We need to take blood samples.
It's me again. Her heart's racing, chest pain.
- And we need you here immediately. - [Maggi coughing]
- No, now. It's urgent. - [Maggi coughing]
[Christina] Yeah, thank you.
Does it hurt then?
No, just feel very dizzy.
Marina's so incompetent. I called her, like, a thousand times.
It's unbelievable.
- [Maggi gasps] - Thank you, about time.
So tell me, how's she been this the evening?
I talked to her about an hour and a half ago, and she was doing fine.
- What's she had? - A sedative's all we gave her.
Her heart rate's unstable. You need to get her to cardiac now.
It's not an option right now.
Can't you see that she's as sick as hell?
Hey! We need to get her checked.
- [Marina] I'm not sure it's the heart. - You can see very well it is the heart.
I'll just take a look at her chart.
[huffs] I already told you what the chart says.
- I told you repeatedly over the phone. - [Maggi gasping]
[Christina] Marina, I can't believe this! Why won't you listen to me?
We need to refer this to the cardiac department.
- [Maggi exhales] - Do you feel any better?
- Yeah. - Yeah? Good.
[door beeps]
[beeping rhythmically]
[Pia] Where's Christina?
She, uh, left with Marina.
I think they're still fighting.
No one can figure out what happened with Maggi.
Uh, who's with Maggi right now?
Well, no one.
It looks like the, uh, alarm is paused.
Maybe the crappy old thing's on the blink.
[needle clicks]
[clicks]
[clicking continues]
Want any help?
[Christina] No, I'm fine.
Needed to fix something.
Oh. Um...
Okay.
[gasping]
[heart beating]
[beating continues]
I just checked 38, so no need to go there.
[beating continues]
[pager beeping, vibrating]
[panting]
[Christina] Get the defib.
Pernille, the bag.
Get the bag!
[panting]
- [doctor] Yeah. - [Christina] We have Maggi Rasmussen.
She has a possible blood clot.
Okay.
She had atrial fibrillation, now flutter.
SAT of 60. Blood pressure was 100 over 60.
Now she's in respiratory arrest.
- [doctor] Thanks. - [Christina] Oh!
- Come on! - Okay.
[pants, grunts] Uh, yeah!
[doctor] Rhythm check. All clear.
[machine beeping rhythmically]
Her heart's still going.
Why was the alarm activated?
The patient's heart didn't stop.
Do we have her chart?
[Marina] Yes, I have the chart here. Look at the images.
[doctor] Huh.
Ah, yes. Afsane, can you see the shadow here?
[Afsane] Yeah.
[doctor] It looks like she had a brain haemorrhage,
which caused a cerebral trauma.
- [Afsane] Brain damage? - [doctor] Exactly.
- [Afsane] Then there's nothing more... - [doctor] No more we can do. No.
Okay, we'll put her on terminal care and inform her family.
- Let's pack up. - [Pia] I'll take out the defib.
[doctor] Thank you.
Can I see those images again?
[door beeps]
You're sure the antidote to diazepam is flumazenil?
[Niels] Yeah.
- Okay. - Why?
- I saw her do it. - What do you mean?
I saw Christina bending over Maggi with syringes.
- What? - But I think she panicked when I came in.
And accidentally pressed the button before the cardiac arrest occurred,
and now the doctors think she has brain damage,
but that makes no sense.
[keys clacking]
[mouse clicks]
[exhales]
Could she have ended up like this if she was given diazepam?
Why do you say that?
That's not in the chart.
Did you give it to her?
No, I didn't.
[keys clacking]
What are you looking for?
[doctor] I'm just looking at some old scans.
She had a blood clot some months back and had a CT scan then.
Just comparing them to make sure that everything's as it should be.
Can't be right.
It's the same shadow.
It's an old injury that she had back then.
She needs oxygen. Turn the machines on.
Yeah.
The antidote to diazepam. Get flumazenil!
Yeah, I'm on it.
- I'll take over. - Yeah, thanks.
- Is the flumazenil there? - Yeah, got it here.
She's breathing, so I'll support with oxygen.
- [doctor] Great. Thanks. - Here.
Afsane, do it.
But so, was she given diazepam then?
Just do it.
[panting]
[exhales]
[air hisses]
[hisses]
[exhales]
I'm really thirsty.
Can I have a little drink?
[Pia] Yes, of course you can.
- [doctor] Maggi. - [Maggi] Yeah.
- [doctor] Do you know where you are? - [Maggi] Yeah, I'm in hospital.
Yes, you are. Take a deep breath now.
[Maggi inhales]
[exhales]
Can you push against my hands?
That's good.
[sighs] Well, she's ABC stable.
Well done.
Thanks.
You did it.
Impressive.
[inhales]
[shudders]
Some shift, huh?
Not one of those you forget.
[inhales] Well, I, um,
I-- I get to see Nanna's gymnastics.
[gasps]
My parents are coming too.
Oh, I'm so excited. [gasps]
[exhales]
Okay.
Well... see ya. [chuckles]
I hear you had a crazy night.
I was right.
What?
I was right.
I saw her do it.
[gasping]
[sniffles, exhales]
[sighs] Hi.
[exhales]
[Pernille gasps]
[exhales]
Okay.
[line ringing]
[phone clatters]
[line rings]
[officer] Vordingborg Police, Søren Ravn.
Hi, uh, I'm Pernille,
and I work at Nykøbing Falster Hospital as a nurse.
How can I help?
I'm calling 'cause I think a colleague killed three patients last night.
- [chattering] - [telephone rings]
[camera shutter clicks]
- [officer] Go on. - She's terminal. She was in terminal care.
And we were asked not to resuscitate.
[Pernille] I also managed to save a bag that I found.
[officer] Christina Aistrup Hansen?
Yeah.
It's 15:34, and you're under arrest.
What was that?
For the murder of Viggo Holm Petersen, Svend Aage Petersen and Anne Lise Poulsen
and the attempted murder of Maggi Margrethe Rasmussen.
Miss Hansen, you now have the right to remain silent.
But it's a mistake.
[officer] And you'll be questioned later, or you can have a lawyer present.
I really don't know what you're talking about.
I didn't do it.
Can you go with my colleague?
[seatbelt clicks]
[engine turns over]
[birds squawking]
[exhales]
[reporter] The residents of Nykøbing Falster
are shocked to learn about the suspicions...
[reporter 2] A suspicious death at Nykøbing Falster Hospital.
[reporter 3] It's a brutal case.
[reporter 4] According to police,
a 30-year-old nurse has killed a number of patients.
[reporter 2] The nurse was reported by a colleague after a night shift.
[reporter 5] The case has already caused immense concern among members
of the medical community.
[reporter 2] The police's key witness is another nurse.
[reporter 4] And it's a very serious charge.
[reporter 3] The case shocked staff and management.
[reporter 6] The biggest murder case in Danish healthcare history.
[reporter 2] ...for a special report on the deadly nurse from Nykøbing Falster.
You should stay home today.
Trial's on now.
- [chuckles] - It'll be on the front page everywhere.
Don't you worry about me.
- No one expects you to go to work. - I'm fine, okay?
Yeah, it's just that I--
If anyone at the department still has an issue with me working there,
and if they don't wanna work with me or talk to me,
it's their problem, not mine.
I just wanna go to work.
- There are donkeys less stubborn than you. - Hmm.
- [Niels scoffs] - [chuckles]
- I found it. It was under the bed. - Hey!
- Ah, you see? [laughs] - Well done.
- Okay. - [Niels] Come on, then.
Watch your fingers.
[lock clicks]
- [Ditte] I saw his post on Instagram. - [laughing] I saw it too.
- How about you? - Hi.
[Diana clears throat]
NURSE - EMERGENCY 3
[badge clicks]
[inhales, exhales]
[indistinct chattering]
- Hi, Pernille. - [Pernille] Hi.
A guy's come in who needs a blood test. Can you do it?
- Yeah, of course. - He's in room 38.
Okay.
Hi.
- [Marlene] Yeah, it'll save so much time. - [Trine] It's the way forward.
- It really will feel great. - [Trine] Mm.
Why do people put these on here?
[Trine clears throat]
Hi.
I'm here to take a blood sample. Is that all right?
[device beeps]
It'll hurt a little bit.
Well, yeah, well, I think I'll survive.
[both laugh]
There.
[needle clicks]
So is your name Pernille?
[Pernille inhales]
Yeah.
Well, I want to thank you.
That's okay.
[exhales]
BASED PRIMARILY ON PERNILLE'S TESTIMONY, CHRISTINA AISTRUP HANSEN WAS SENTENCED
TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR THE MURDERS OF VIGGO HOLM PETERSEN,
ANNA LISE POULSEN AND ARNE HERSKOV
AND FOR THE ATTEMPTED MURDER OF MAGGI MARGRETHE RASMUSSEN.
IT COULD NOT BE RULED OUT THAT THE VICTIMS HAD DIED OF OTHER CAUSES,
SO THE VERDICT WAS REDUCED TO FOUR COUNTS OF ATTEMPTED MURDER.
THE FINAL SENTENCE WAS 12 YEARS IN PRISON.
MAGGI MARGRETHE RASMUSSEN IS STILL ALIVE AND WELL.
SO IS ARNE'S BROTHER, KENNY HERSKOV.
ALL NURSES FROM THE ER AT THAT TIME HAVE MOVED ON TO DIFFERENT JOBS.
EXCEPT ONE.
PERNILLE KURZMANN STILL WORKS AS A NURSE AT NYKØBING FALSTER HOSPITAL.
TODAY HER NAME IS PERNILLE KURZMANN LUNDÉN.
[theme music playing]