– We must implement extraordinary measures such as extra staffing and ask our employees and managers to make an extra effort, says director Eldar Søreide. On Tuesday afternoon, Stavanger University Hospital sent out a press release to announce that the hospital must switch to green preparedness. – It is because the number of patients is much larger than what we have seen before, Søreide says to news. – What kind of patients are we talking about? – Some of the patients have covid-19, but that is not the main challenge. The challenge is that over time we have seen a large increase in patients who need immediate help. He points out that there are no special diagnoses that stand out, among those who now need help at the hospital. The hospital’s emergency preparedness levels Emergency preparedness is about being prepared to deal with different types of incidents. SUS uses three emergency levels in addition to normal operation. There are green, yellow and red emergency services. The emergency preparedness levels are in accordance with the regional health emergency preparedness plan for Helse Vest. Green preparedness: An unresolved situation where extraordinary resources and measures may be needed. There is a limited need for additional resources. The situation may require increased attention. Yellow alert: An unwanted incident with a limited scope has occurred. The situation must be handled with extended efforts / extraordinary resources and measures. Red emergency preparedness: A serious adverse event has occurred. There is a great need for extraordinary resources and measures. Source: SUS Eldrebølgen The subject director explains that the hospital is now noticing the consequences of the population in Rogaland getting older, similar to other parts of the country. According to Søreide, they have a greater need for specialist health services. – Is this the first warning about how the aging wave will be for the hospital? – It is probably more than a warning. This is the development we have seen coming with the population in Sør-Rogaland getting older. We are in a development in the population where the average age is higher, and there is a greater need for hospital services, he says. – What services are these? – There are all sorts of diagnoses. Pneumonia. Hip fracture. Myocardial infarction. It is an increase in everything that can lead to a need for immediate help and hospitalization. The subject director at Stavanger University Hospital says that the increase is due to patients with many different diagnoses. Photo: Rolv Christian Topdahl / news Must increase staffing Søreide further says that it is the number of patients and not the diagnoses that means that the hospital must go on green alert. – It is an extraordinary situation in the sense that this is something we have never experienced before. So the question is whether it is a peak, or whether it will stay at this level. We have not experienced this increase in patients who need immediate help before. It is very demanding for our employees and managers, he says. In addition to the aging wave, increased infection has also contributed to the increased preparedness in that more patients and staff have been infected by newer variants of the surrounding variant, the hospital states. Population development selected cities Number of inhabitants over 67 years in selected cities in Norway: Oslo: 2018 – 72946 2022 – 79316 Bergen: 2018 – 37731 2022 – 40857 Trondheim: 2018 – 24630 2022 – 27856 Stavanger: 2018 – 16870 2022 – 19142 Kristiansand: 2018 – 14542 2022 – 16324 Tromsø: 2018 – 8564 2022 – 9918 SOURCE: Statistics Norway
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Sharp increase in emergency patients at the hospital due to the aging wave in Sør-Rogaland – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
