Würzburg's chief physician warns of a clinic collapse - and talks about intensive care patients: "I'm very sad"
Created: 01/14/2022 11:23 am
By: Verena Moeckl
More and more people are becoming infected with the corona virus.
The hospitals are working to the limit.
© picture alliance/dpa/Sebastian Gollnow/Symbolbild
The Würzburg chief physician Matthias Held warns that the hospitals will be overloaded due to the increasing corona numbers.
But he also has good news.
Würzburg – The corona infections * in Germany are increasing.
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Matthias Held fears that the hospitals will soon be overwhelmed.
The chief physician at the Würzburg Mitte clinic warned of this scenario last year.
In the video interview with
t-online
, Held talks about everyday life in his corona intensive care unit.
Using a dramatic case, he explains why vaccination against the corona virus * is so important and whether the unvaccinated regret their decision.
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Increasing corona infections: Würzburg's chief physician warns of overburdening the hospitals
"The worry of not being able to provide patients with comprehensive care has been with us in waves for a year and a half," says Held.
Especially in the intensive care units, the doctors and nurses are working at the limit of their resilience.
Because of Omikron, the Würzburg clinic doctor fears that there could soon be bottlenecks in the care on the normal wards.
"Almost exclusively unvaccinated people are in the intensive care units," reports Held.
There are also individual cases of vaccinated patients, but these are “often much” shorter in the intensive care unit and sometimes have a worsening of their previous illness.
Misinformed patients: Chief physician describes a dramatic case in the intensive care unit
At the beginning of January, Matthias Held addressed the population on television and appealed to be vaccinated. In his televised address, he illustrated the urgency of vaccination using the drastic case of an abscess patient who was advised against being vaccinated due to false information. "Such a pre-existing condition does not pose a risk for vaccination," stresses Held. But out of uncertainty, the patient waited with the vaccination. This had serious consequences. After being infected with the corona virus, the man became so ill that his lungs, liver and kidneys failed. How is the man now? Did he survive the corona infection?
In an interview with t-online, the Würzburg chief physician Matthias Held speaks about a dramatic case of a misinformed patient.
© Video interview t-online (screenshot)
"The patient has now been artificially ventilated for ten weeks," reports Held in an interview with
t-online
.
The man is now on the mend.
The unvaccinated got lucky again.
Only half of all patients survive artificial respiration.
Chief physician: “We also have patients who have denied the corona virus after surviving the infection”
What does that do to the patients?
Do unvaccinated people regret their decision* if they have to be treated in intensive care?
The director of the Würzburg Clinic tells of an unvaccinated patient who regretted her decision.
"She realized it was a mistake.
Now she is appealing to get vaccinated.” But there are also patients who show no understanding or remorse – on the contrary.
"We also have patients who denied the coronavirus after surviving the infection," says Held.
"That's very sad and thought-provoking."
The situation in northern Bavaria is currently still relaxed
But the chief physician also has good news.
The situation in the clinics in Würzburg* and northern Bavaria from the Christmas holidays until now is “rather relaxing”, which, according to him, could be related to the falling number of cases in December.
Held is still looking forward to the coming weeks with excitement.
*Merkur.de/bayern
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