The emergency department of the hospital in Dinant of CHU UCL Namur has been “closed” for 24 hours since 8 a.m. on Sunday due to a shortage of staff. Doctor Pierre-Yves Devresse, responsible for the guard post, reported this on Facebook on Sunday.
The emergency service will remain closed until 8 a.m. on Monday. “Only pediatric emergencies and the MUG service remain active,” it said.
“This is the result of a major staff shortage. The GP emergency post, connected to the emergency service in question, remains open,” said Doctor Devresse. He asks patients to only come “with problems that cannot wait until Monday”.
There is also a staff shortage in Flanders
It previously appeared that emergency services in Flanders are also at their wits’ end. The shortage of general practitioners – which causes people to call on emergency services more quickly – but also shortages in other departments, which means less smooth flow, is affecting Flemish hospitals. In Leuven, emergency services staff recently stopped work to address the problem.
