The clinic had actually increased its intensive care capacity – to 50 beds. But: “Of course, these 50 intensive care places also have to be served, and the problem is that there is a lack of staff.” More than 30 employees of the clinic are currently in quarantine at home.
One problem is the lack of staff
Elsewhere too, the situation with nursing staff is tense. A spokesman for the General Hospital in Viersen said that the load limit had long been reached. Because the staff in the intensive care units now fall ill more often or have to be in quarantine for other reasons. This means that intensive care beds that are actually ready for use cannot be used. According to the State Ministry of Health, the capacity of the intensive care units in North Rhine-Westphalia has fallen by almost 400 beds since the beginning of November.
The Essen University Hospital is also struggling with an increasing shortage of staff. There, like in Düsseldorf and Duisburg, ten percent of the beds are still free. But clinic spokesman Burkhard Büscher says the balance between Covid 19 sufferers and other patients will be more difficult: “We can no longer do this in a fully satisfactory manner. Ultimately, all specialist disciplines fall back on the same, limited resources in terms of beds, technical equipment and, above all, personnel. This point is often forgotten in the current discussion.”
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