High pressure creates challenges for several hospitals across the country. Both Sykehuset Østfold and Helse Fonna report too few beds.
– There has been a large influx of patients for several days, more than ever. There are many people with various respiratory infections that need to be isolated, which takes up quite a bit of space. It is both seasonal flu, corona and RS virus, Sykehuset Østfold communications manager Bjørn Hødal tells VG.
He says that, as of Tuesday morning, Østfold Hospital had 64 more patients than normal beds.
– There were also a number of orthopedic patients. If there is a large influx of one type of patient, you can normally use other parts of the hospital, but there has now been an influx in many areas, Hødal says.
He says there are challenges when it comes to both land and personnel.
Greater preparation
– It is very busy and we are better prepared to handle the situation, says Hødal.
Sykehuset Østfold switched to green prep on Monday due to “a large influx of patients needing isolation”.
Helse Fonna is also on green alert, while Vestre Viken Helseforetak (HF) is on yellow alert.
– The background for the increased readiness is a large influx of patients with infectious diseases and fractures and high bed occupancy with a great need for patient isolation. In addition, there is still a high rate of sick leave among its employees, writes Vestre Viken HF in one Press release.
Sin Press release Helse Fonna writes that the reason for the increased preparedness is the high sickness absence, many infected and large patients coveringcoveringThat there are more patients than the number of ordinary beds. .
– The move to green readiness gives us a few more buttons to push in relation to personnel safety and operations, says Kenneth Eikeset, interim managing director of Helse Fonna.
Deputy Director of Health Espen Rostrup Nakstad in an email to NTB says that “the increase in the level of preparedness is done mainly to strengthen the management and coordination of patient flow in hospitals.”
– They don’t necessarily say anything about the level of ability or the severity of the situation in solitary confinement, writes Nakstad.
368 patients with crown
Throughout the Christmas season, the number of patients at the health service was consistently high. The Directorate of Health has not yet received updated data on infections in the days following the Christmas holidays.
Nakstad says it is difficult to predict when the winter corona and flu infection peak will occur.
– Regarding the covid-19, the number of hospitalized has remained almost unchanged in the last two or three weeks. Yesterday, for example, there were 368 patients diagnosed with covid-19 in the hospital. The number of flu patients, on the other hand, has risen more steeply in recent weeks. Therefore, there is reason to believe that the flu wave will continue for a few more weeks. We hope to reach the maximum in January, writes Nakstad.
Senior doctor Preben Aavitsland of the Institute of Public Health says a new weekly report on the infection situation will be released on Thursday. The previous report came just before Christmas.
– In normal winters, we measure about 1,500-2,000 hospitalizations for respiratory infections every week from January to February. In week 50, we surpassed 2,000, with corona, flu and pneumonia as the largest groups. We’ll probably have a few hundred before it capsizes, writes Aavitsland in an e-mail to NTB.
– Wed vent
Sykehuset Østfold’s Hødal says that “People who need help must seek help and should get it.”
– But there’s more waiting than usual, and many have to be in corridors or share rooms. Snow was reported in Østfold tomorrow so hopefully people will use their spikes and be careful. Patients will also notice that we have been forced to introduce visiting restrictions on bed places, says Hødal.
– Attendance at the Haugesund ER has been huge in recent weeks. Many patients waited a long time and many were sent home, writes Helse Fonna in her press release.
