Hospitals in the Netherlands have already experienced huge crowds in recent years, mainly due to Covid-19. At the moment, everything is once again on hand in various hospitals, but this time especially on children’s ICs due to the RS virus.
Károly Illy, from the Dutch Pediatric Association, says the situation is worrying. “At the moment, everything needs to be done to ensure that sick children can be given a place. For the moment, it’s working.”
Quick consultation
Illy says all seven teaching hospitals will meet tomorrow for urgent consultations. “We predicted it before Christmas, but now we have to be very careful. It is not yet clear if and what further measures we will take.”
In the worst case, this could mean moving the children to Belgium or Germany, as happened during the peak of the coronavirus. Yet this is less obvious now, says Renze Jongstra on behalf of the Association for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals.
“Even hospitals in Belgium and Germany don’t have the capacity to admit Dutch children at the moment,” says Jongstra. “All beds 95 to 99 of the CIs in the Netherlands reserved for children are currently almost full.”
Meanwhile, less-than-desirable situations are already emerging, says Jongstra. “Sometimes a baby comes in that you really don’t have room for anymore. But you can’t send him away. The nurses then take care of extra beds and work extra shifts. But that’s not good for both the patient and the nurse.” . “
The RS virus can be extremely intense. Maria experienced this. You can see her story in this video from last year:
The university hospitals of Groningen, Leiden and Maastricht tell RTL News that there is not a single bed left for the children in intensive care. Today in Utrecht there are only a few beds available, but last weekend it was quite full there too.
Joost Wessels, spokesman for UMC Groningen, says his hospital has already increased the maximum number of beds from 16 to 20. Worrying. We are approaching the limit of our capabilities.”
Measures taken
“We had been considering the RS virus, because it impacts every year around this time,” Wessels says. “But you never know how much impact it will have. So many children have been affected this year.”
Pressure also rises in the Maastricht University Hospital. “All beds in the pediatric intensive care unit are full,” says spokesman Rik van Laake. “We have now canceled several non-urgent procedures for the children.”
Extra beds are not available in Maastricht. “The RS virus puts pressure on us every year, but as we also face a staff shortage, we simply cannot increase capacity.”
