pandemic
Staff shortages restrict hospital operations
Clinic staff in Leipzig. Photo: Waltraud Grubitzsch/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
In the midst of the omicron wave, many employees in hospitals are also losing their jobs. That puts a strain on the “leftovers” – there is no sign of a breather.
During the Omicron wave, hospitals in Germany are struggling with a massive loss of staff.
“A high number of staff who tested positive is very stressful for many hospitals,” said the President of the Intensive Care Medicine Association DIVI, Gernot Marx, of the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. “So currently 518 out of 1320 intensive care units are again working in a restricted operation.” In North Rhine-Westphalia one “very clearly felt a carnival effect”.
The CEO of the German Hospital Society (DKG), Gerald Gass, has the same concerns. “We have a nationwide problem with staff shortages due to quarantine and isolation,” Gaß told the editorial network Germany. “A current survey by the DKI shows that 75 percent of hospitals are no longer able to offer their normal range of services. And the decisive factor for this are the staff shortages.” Due to the high incidences, there was no reason to expect a breather in the coming weeks. The only positive thing is that the occupancy in the intensive care units is not increasing.
Gass warned of the financial consequences for hospitals due to restrictions on standard care. The federal government wants to maintain support for the hospitals: the so-called free space allowance should continue to be paid until mid-April and the care allowance as a surcharge for the treatment of Covid patients until the end of June. But that’s not enough. “I can only urge politicians and the Federal Minister of Health to create clarity beyond April, and not just for a month, but in the long term,” said Gass. The hospitals would lose a billion euros every month if the previous rescue package were no longer available.