Coronavirus
Medical Association: At the beginning of February it will be tight in the clinics
A body plethysmograph is used in a clinic to examine lung parameters. Photo: Friso Gentsch/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The number of new corona infections is also increasing rapidly in Germany. The clinics are gradually reaching their limits. What will become of the medical care of the population?
If the number of corona infections continues to rise so rapidly, the medical organization Marburger Bund sees the clinics at their limit in just a few days.
“By the beginning of February at the latest, it will be very tight in hospitals across Germany if the number of infections continues to rise at this rate,” said Chairwoman Susanne Johna to the newspapers of the Funke media group. It’s not just about growing patient numbers. “We expect that in the coming weeks a large number of medical and nursing staff will be absent because they have become infected and have to isolate themselves.” This applies to outpatient care as well as to inpatient care.
“The staff is the bottleneck.”
A further increase in the number of infections could mean “that the care of the population will no longer correspond to the usual standard,” said Johna. Unlike in the first wave of the pandemic, it is no longer a question of too little technology or too few ventilators. “The staff is the bottleneck.”
The Federal Association of Private Providers of Social Services also warns of a threat to care in view of the increasing shortage of nursing staff. Its President Bernd Meurer told the “Welt am Sonntag”: “Without additional forces – whether from the Bundeswehr or from civil protection – there are considerable dangers to supply.” The load limits have been reached and further staff shortages can no longer be coped with. The association represents 12,000 nursing homes and social services.
Caritas Altenhilfe, which operates 72 senior citizens’ facilities in three federal states, called for the vaccination requirement for nursing staff to be suspended. “In view of the relatively mild course caused by the Omicron variant and the current shortage of staff, compulsory vaccination for employees in care facilities is no longer justifiable and must be suspended until there is a decision on general compulsory vaccination,” said a spokeswoman for the newspaper. By March 15, according to federal law, employees in health and care facilities must submit proof of a completed vaccination, proof of recovery or a medical certificate of their non-vaccinability.