Both in Trondheim, Stavanger and at a hospital in Oslo, full emergency departments and capacity problems are reported. A new corona wave, patients ready for discharge who cannot be returned to the municipality, people from Ukraine who need medical help and an ongoing wave of elderly people are cited as possible explanations. But no one has clear answers. – We do not know why there are so many acute admissions to Norwegian hospitals. It’s not just on St. Olav. We see that this is happening in all the hospitals, and no one has the full explanation for that. That’s what Grethe Aasved, hospital director of St. Olav’s hospital, says. Challenging patient safety St. Olav’s hospital switched to yellow emergency on Wednesday night. There are a number of simultaneous incidents that mean that the hospital now has capacity problems. The number of emergency patients has increased, and Aasved says it is a question of internal medical disorders, and not related to accidents. In addition, the hospital is noticing the influx of Ukrainian patients and an increase in covid-19 patients. Patients therefore accumulate in the emergency department. – It can be dangerous when we do not get them further into the hospital where they will be treated. It challenges patient safety, says Aasved. The hospital director describes the situation ahead of the summer holidays as very demanding. Hospital director Grethe Aasved believes that patient safety is being challenged by the increased attendance at the emergency department. Photo: Bent Lindsetmo / news Must postpone operations St. Olav also has a high proportion of patients ready for discharge, which has contributed to the need for an increased level of preparedness. Due to the situation, the hospital has decided that hospitalizations and operations that can wait will be postponed. The hospital director can not say anything about the extent of the postponements, and points out that which patients have their hospitalizations postponed is a specific medical assessment in each individual case. – Do you fear that the situation may get worse? – Yes, we’m worried. There is so much simultaneity here, and we have no control over that. At the same time, no one in our region should be afraid of getting sick. We prioritize the necessary preparedness to receive immediate help, says Aasved. She describes the situation for the employees as very demanding and praises them for their efforts during a demanding period. – I want to pay a huge tribute to the employees who have been in this for so long and how they stretch, she says. Lack of staffing The director of health and welfare in Trondheim municipality also says that the situation has been unexpected. – The capacity is marginal, it’s just acknowledging it, says Wenche Dehli. She believes the pressured situation is due to a lack of qualified substitutes in the summer rotation. Dehli tells news that the situation is more difficult now than during the summers with the corona. – We focus on maintaining a sound health service for all residents, that is our main task. We may have to resort to reducing the level of service a bit, says the director. Nevertheless, she explains that several services have been marginally staffed for two years, and that it has gone well. – But I am concerned about a tough working environment, and that those who receive services will have a slightly poorer quality than what we would rather have offered them, says Dehli. Wenche Dehli, director of health and welfare in Trondheim municipality, is concerned about the situation. Photo: Morten Andersen / news Ahus: – Demanding situation Akershus University Hospital is also experiencing an increase. “There are currently many admissions for different types of immediate help and a demanding operating situation in the emergency room and several bed areas,” Ahus writes in an e-mail. The hospital writes that there has been an increase in covid-19 patients that contributes to a demanding situation, but that it is still not this group that is the main reason for the increased progress. “Through the pandemic, Ahus has developed plans to handle possible increased influx, and we are following the situation closely,” the hospital writes. Also at Ahus, operations at the emergency department are under pressure. Photo: Simon Skjelvik Brandseth / news More with corona At Oslo University Hospital, there are also more patients with corona. On Monday 20 June, 19 was admitted with covid-19 as the main diagnosis. – It is true that there are more people with covid hospitalized now, most elderly people with exacerbation of other ailments and only slightly ill from the covid condition itself. However, it contributes to the total load being large, says Anne Maagaard who is head of department at the Department of Infectious Disease Medicine. She is excited about how the summer will be, since we now live as normal again. – Health workers are also looking forward to the holiday, so I hope we get through this in a not too intrusive way, says Maagaard. Doubling in emergency admissions The University Hospital in Stavanger went into green emergency earlier this week. Emergency preparedness is increasing because the hospital receives far more patients than expected. The hospital has seen over time that the group of patients who need immediate help has increased. They now have 150 emergency admissions a day. This is twice as many as normal. On Wednesday, seven of the patients in the heart ward had to lie in the hallway. – There is pressure on the whole house. We must try to help with other items, if we have a free room or free corridor space, says nurse Kjellaug Hagen Bakkedal. Kjellaug Hagen Bakkedal works as a nurse at Stavanger University Hospital. She says the whole hospital is under pressure. Photo: Anett Johansen Espeland / news Eldar Søreide is subject director at Helse Stavanger and believes it is the aging wave that is the explanation for the increased pressure at the hospital. – Many people probably think that it is an expression that the population in general is getting older. Then you have more need for health services and immediate help, says Søreide.
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Several hospitals raise the level of preparedness before the summer – news Trøndelag
