The Wallis hospital is struggling with an acute staff shortage. It is therefore necessary to postpone non-emergency operations in the coming weeks.
The staff shortage “affects all of Switzerland and in particular several institutions in Romandie, including the Wallis hospital,” the hospital said on Friday. Interventions that could wait should be postponed to allow for urgent and semi-urgent interventions.
Closing 5 out of 13 operating rooms
Up to ten treatments per day can be postponed, the general director of the Valais hospital, Eric Bonvin, said in an interview with the newspaper “Le Nouvelliste”. Only eight of the thirteen operating rooms could be operated.
The problem is multifaceted. First of all, the health crisis has put pressure on the teams. The hospital recorded discharges with each wave. As a result, there was a lot of exhaustion among those who stayed. And finally, it is very difficult to recruit staff as there are very few people in the market who are trained in specific areas of these professions.
To counter this, the hospital in Wallis initially recalled people from the reservation, especially retired nurses. But today that is no longer enough.
“There is a risk of a vicious circle”
It’s about motivating the teams and making the jobs more attractive. “We need to improve working conditions in the broadest sense. The wages, the working hours, the working atmosphere and so on. » But if you have a staff shortage, that is very difficult. “There is a risk of a vicious circle.”
Bonvin pointed out that the shortage of health workers is not a new phenomenon. You’ve seen it coming for years, but society has responded little to these warnings. “We have set up a care system that is running at full speed. Without reservations. And it shows its limits,” said the general manager of the Walliser hospital. (SDA/lha)