Two Dutch hospitals have to temporarily scale down part of their care due to absenteeism and staff shortages. The Antonius Hospital in Sneek closed an operating room on Tuesday because absenteeism due to illness has increased. In Zoetermeer, the LangeLand Hospital had to close the emergency room (ED) due to staff shortages.
The Frisian Antonius Hospital closes one of the four operating rooms for a month. Two operating rooms remain open for scheduled surgeries and one operating room for emergency care, the hospital reports.
The closure of the operating room will affect at least 90 patients in the next two weeks. Their operations are being moved. The schedule for catch-up operations has yet to be made.
The reason for the closure is that more and more staff are getting sick. “There was a downward trend in absenteeism, but short-term absenteeism is now increasing again,” the hospital reports. “As a result, there are too few healthcare professionals available to provide the desired care.” Patients affected by the decision will all be called and helped later.
In recent weeks, Antonius has already taken various measures to prevent the workload for the staff present from increasing further. Now the hospital is forced to close an operating room.
Emergency care LangeLand Hospital closed
The LangeLand Hospital in Zoetermeer also had to close a department due to staff shortages. Until October 1, the A&E will be closed three days a week. The A&E department closes every Tuesday at 8:00 AM, and the department reopens at 8:00 AM on Friday.
The Zoetermeer hospital has made agreements with care institutions in the region about taking over patients who are referred to the A&E by the GP.
According to David Baden, chairman of the Dutch Association of Emergency Medicine Doctors (NVSHA), it is the first time that an emergency room has been closed for so long due to a staff shortage. It sometimes happens that an emergency room has to close for a short time due to a high influx or due to renovation. But according to Baden, that never lasts longer than a few days.
The NVSHA chairman expects the closure to cause extra crowds and therefore longer waiting times. He also believes it is possible that surrounding hospitals will have to temporarily close their emergency rooms. “Especially from September, because then most people are back from vacation and it will be busier in the ER anyway.”