Due to a power outage at the Isala hospital in Zwolle, the capacity at the emergency department in Meppel has been expanded. This means that more staff has been deployed to accommodate additional patients in the Meppel hospital.
The power went out in Zwolle this morning due to problems at Enexis. The hospital has been running on emergency power ever since. This applies, among other things, to emergency care, intensive care and cardiac monitoring. The critical IT systems also run on emergency power. According to Isala, the situation is stable and patients have not been in danger.
When the power went out in Zwolle, there were no patients in the emergency department. “It is also quiet in Meppel for the time being,” says a spokesperson. However, the capacity in Meppel has been expanded to be on the safe side. General practitioners in the region have also been informed. “This means that people who receive a referral from their GP to go to the emergency room now have to go to Meppel.” It is not clear how many additional personnel have been deployed in Meppel.
Operations in Zwolle that are not urgent are postponed. “We are finding out which operations are necessary and whether they can continue.” Appointments at the Zwolle outpatient clinic will certainly not take place until noon. Whether they will take place this afternoon will be known later.
Isala does not yet know how long it will take before the power in Zwolle works again.