The wave of syncytial virus, Australian flu and, to a very small extent, Covid does not stop. And even if there has been a slight reduction in admissions for a few days, the situation in the Meyer pediatric hospital in Florence remains critical. For weeks now the Meyer has been stormed, with record turnout in many departments. The situation remains particularly challenging in intensive care, where all fifteen beds have been occupied: to deal with new cases of emergency it was also necessary to prepare two additional beds, ready to be used.
The combination of the syncytial virus, responsible for very aggressive bronchiolitis in children, and the flu, which arrived early this year, caused the house to sell out. The intensive care unit is occupied by patients who arrive from all hospitals in the Region and who are very small: a few months or in any case no more than a year. Half of them have respiratory failure requiring intubation. In addition, at this time, eighteen patients require high-flow oxygen treatment.
The situation is not easy even in the Emergency Department, but for the first time, after really difficult days – with peaks of 180-200 daily accesses recorded over the weekend – there is a slight decrease.
The Pediatrics department also continues to be under stress, which, out of the 42 beds available, has welcomed seventy children.
“The latest report from the Istituto Superiore di Sanità which monitors the flu trend – explains Massimo Resti, who directs Meyer’s Pediatrics – shows that compared to past years we are in a scenario of very high intensity, with a very high incidence in the pediatric age. Suffice it to say that the incidence in the general population is equal to 15.54 cases per thousand assisted, while in the range between zero and four years it is equal to 50.62. The numbers of the last few days, however, give us hope for the fact that we have reached the so-called plateau”.
To deal with the emergency situation, the Management of the Pediatric Hospital has convened two urgent meetings with the trade unions: two meetings necessary to share organizational models that allow continuity of care in the most critical situations. But above all to recognize the availability and professionalism of the Meyer operators who, once again, have proved to be up to a truly difficult situation.
“The Hospital is under exceptional pressure. The medical, nursing and assistance staff are working both in the Pediatrics and in the intensive wards in a commendable way to provide assistance to all children in need of care and we express to them at this moment a feeling of gratitude for the tireless work and for the great sense of belonging in this new serious pediatric emergency Thanks also to the trade union organizations with which there has been maximum and constant sharing of the necessary measures to face this serious crisis affecting the little ones “, declares Alberto Zanobini, general manager of Meyer.
