Corona: Clinic has to cope with staff shortages - planned surgeries continue to be postponed

Created: 03/02/2022, 10:02 am

By: Wolfgang Schorner

Corona isolation station: It was set up again at the Penzberg hospital in August 2021 after a long quiet phase.

© Wolfgang Schörner

Nine Covid 19 patients are currently being treated as inpatients in the Penzberg hospital, slightly fewer than in the past few weeks.

However, operations that can be planned will continue to be postponed in order to free up capacities for emergencies.

But also because there are a number of infections among the employees.

Penzberg – As of Tuesday afternoon, nine patients with Covid-19 are currently being treated as inpatients in the Penzberg hospital.

There, a complete ward continues to serve as an isolation area.

The number has therefore decreased slightly.

In the past few weeks, up to 14 Covid 19 patients have been in the clinic at the same time, reports medical director Dr.

Florian Brändle on request.

He expects that this situation will continue for the next few weeks until the numbers drop noticeably.

The more severe cases that have to be treated in hospital are mainly older and unvaccinated people.

All Covid-19 patients with omicron variant

According to him, a similar situation can also be seen in other hospitals.

There were many Covid 19 patients in the normal wards, but “thank God only a few left” in the intensive care wards – although the intensive care ward in Penzberg has been kept free for other emergencies since the beginning of the corona pandemic.

According to Brändle, the infected are less likely to have severe courses.

However, the overall high incidence figures would be reflected in hospitalization.

According to Brändle, all Covid-19 patients in the Penzberg clinic are currently infected with the omicron variant.

You can be lucky that this variant has a milder course, says the medical director.

According to him, the majority of 70 to 80 percent come to the hospital because of Covid-19 with typical symptoms.

The rest are patients who are admitted because of other illnesses or an accident, but whose corona test is positive when they are admitted.

These patients would also be transferred to the isolation ward, he explains.

"High burden on the health system": Plannable surgeries continue to be postponed

Operations that can be planned are still being postponed at the Penzberg Clinic, as far as medically justifiable.

This week, the government of Upper Bavaria obliged 76 clinics, including the houses in Penzberg, Weilheim and Schongau, to continue postponing such interventions because of "the still high burden on the health system".

This order is valid up to and including March 18th.

The government argues, among other things, with emergency care and staff shortages.

Staff shortages in the hospital cause problems

The surgical program in the Penzberg hospital is "still significantly curtailed," confirms Brändle.

On the one hand, capacities must be available for emergencies.

On the other hand, according to him, there are many staff shortages because employees have become infected and therefore have to be quarantined.

In addition, you have to make sure that there is enough space for patients in the house – given that there is a ward as an isolation area.

It is not foreseeable when you will have a normal surgical program again.

There is also a ban on visiting the clinic.

However, the exemptions are being used more and more generously, he explains.

According to Brändle, more than 90 percent of the employees are now vaccinated.

The clinic wants to continue to offer its own vaccination appointments for the workforce.

The offers would be accepted, including for refresher and booster vaccinations.

There are also interested parties for the new vaccine "Novavax".

It was decided to send these interested parties to the vaccination center.

The aim is to prevent vaccine doses that do not find a buyer from having to be thrown away.