Emergency care has to close more often due to flu wave

There are currently many people in hospitals who have been admitted with a virus infection, explains David Baden, president of the Dutch Association for Emergency Physicians (NVSHA). The Netherlands is experiencing the biggest flu wave since spring 2020, at the beginning of the corona period.

Yesterday it also emerged that sometimes patients are transferred to hospitals in the region due to flu pressure. Due to a combination of influenza, RS virus and other viruses, the burden is very high in hospitals.

Moving more and more difficult

Typically, someone who ends up in the emergency room spends an average of one to three hours there. If someone is too sick to go home, he has to be hospitalized. But according to Baden, this has often not been possible in recent weeks.

The flu wave doesn’t just affect the number of patients. Many health workers are also ill at home, adding to the existing staff shortage.

Nursing homes also suffer from understaffing, which means that the flow from hospital to nursing home is not always smooth.

Wait 12 hours

Now it can also happen that a patient has to wait up to 12 hours in the emergency room before a place is available. “That way, one bed stays occupied with us, which increases the possibility that you’ll have to close the ER at some point,” says Baden.

This closure means that no new patients can be added temporarily. Ambulances then have to reach the next hospital or, in extreme cases, the same doctors have to provide emergency care for longer. “Even if in reality they are already too busy,” says Baden.

Push higher and higher

According to Baden, the pressure on acute care has increased in recent years. Staff shortage is one reason for this. As a result, it is sometimes necessary to evaluate what care can and cannot be provided.

If it’s a broken finger, which isn’t x-rayed in that case, it’s relatively harmless, according to Baden. It’s less innocent if a primary care physician decides to leave someone with a severe bladder infection at home a little longer, because there’s no room for an evaluation in the emergency room.

“Often it’s fine, but sometimes someone might get so sick they end up in the hospital for a week,” says Baden. “The system is breaking down everywhere.”