Long waiting times during the holidays: emergency care in Swiss hospitals is reaching its limits

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“The situation in the emergency centers is worrying, and not only during the holidays. We are constantly pushing ourselves to the limit,” said Vincent Ribordy, Switzerland’s top emergency doctor. The pressure is enormous and constantly high.

In addition, many general practices and specialist practices are closed over Christmas and New Year. That is why even more patients go to the emergency room than normal.

Covid-19 is circulating

In addition, the situation worsens in the cold season as the number of infections increases. Covid-19 is currently circulating very strongly and flu numbers are also increasing. Both lead to more patients in the emergency room. In many hospitals, wearing a face mask is again mandatory when interacting with patients and in waiting rooms.

In 2022, Zurich University Hospital treated more than 43,000 emergency patients, and the number is rising. The same sounds from the Inselspital in Bern, which has approximately 60,000 consultations per year. “We are very busy and repeatedly operate at and above capacity,” says media spokesperson Didier Plaschy.

A phenomenon that hospitals throughout Switzerland are confronted with. Many report that the number of cases has doubled in the past decade. The biggest problem is that many young people also present with complaints that do not require treatment in the emergency room or in hospital. “Minor accidents flood emergency rooms,” the “Observer” wrote.

Collapse warning

A number of hospitals warned against ‘urgent care’ and urged patients to only go to hospital in urgent medical emergencies (see box ‘When in emergencies?’).

Vincent Ribordy sounded the alarm a year ago. Switzerland’s top emergency doctor spoke of a collapse of the system. “We are facing a collapse,” warned the co-chair of the Swiss Association of Emergency Medicine. That “wasn’t alarming,” says Ribordy. Today, a year later, the situation has unfortunately not improved, “on the contrary”. There are often no free beds for emergency patients who have to stay in the hospital because the departments are already at full capacity. “This leads to long waiting times and sometimes a backlog when ambulances have to be turned away because they are full,” says Ribordy.

Lack of basic necessities

Ribordy sees the reasons for the failure of the healthcare system during an emergency mainly in the lack of basic care. There are too many specialists, but there is a lack of general practitioners. In addition, the population is growing and patients are getting older, which is often accompanied by more complex diseases. “More than 20 percent of emergency patients are over 70 years old,” he says.

Thousands of nurses are still missing and countless jobs are unfilled. Same with doctors. Staff absenteeism due to illness is also a problem. “We constantly have a 5 to 10 percent failure rate in healthcare and doctors,” says emergency physician Ribordy. These cannot be replaced adequately, which puts a lot of pressure on staff. “The capacity in emergency situations is at its limit,” says Ribordy. He warns of conditions like those in Britain and France, where emergency centers are on the verge of collapse.

Long waiting times

Comforting: “We are prepared for the holidays. But for complaints that appear to be less serious, long waiting times can be expected,” says Ribordy. “Urgent emergencies are always handled.”

Bern Island Hospital also expects “long to very long waiting times.” And Ksenija Slankamenac, co-director of the Institute of Emergency Medicine at the University Hospital of Zurich, says: “We are always there for our patients if they need us, even during the holidays.”

Source:Blick