Care situation for seriously ill children worsens
Staff shortages, bed shortages, waves of infections, underfunding - pediatricians are sounding the alarm about the continuing strain on children's intensive care units. The care situation for seriously ill children in Germany continues to deteriorate noticeably, the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (Divi) announced on Thursday in Hamburg at the 23rd Divi Congress of Emergency and Intensive Care Physicians. The number of cases of children with viral infections in emergency departments and intensive care units is currently only rising slowly, but appearances are deceptive.
Staff shortage was the main reason for bed closures
Last winter, the RS virus caused many sick children and full hospitals. Numerous children's intensive care units were overloaded and seriously ill children had to be transported hundreds of kilometers to other hospitals. Parents and children sometimes waited for hours in emergency rooms.
As a result, planned operations were cancelled throughout the winter, patients from other hospitals could not be transferred or could only be transferred to other hospitals with a great deal of organizational effort, according to Ellen Heimberg, deputy spokesperson for the Divi Section for Paediatric Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine. There were also delays in treatments due to staff shortages. "Our main problem is the shortage of nursing staff." This was the main reason for bed closures.
Doctors: wave of infections also coming this winter
At a press conference, the designated Divi President Florian Hoffmann emphasized that the shortage of beds is a year-round problem. In addition, there are peaks in winter. Last winter, the wave came very early, this year it all seems to have been pushed back a little. "But we definitely know that these waves of infection are coming. They will come this year too." Hoffmann spoke out in favor of vaccination campaigns against RSV in order to reduce the number of infections.
More flexible working time models in nursing?
In order to be able to care for patients with fewer and fewer staff, more flexible working time models and better pay should also be considered, said Hofmann. More money is also needed for children's hospitals. The additional 300 million euros financed by the federal government for children's hospitals in 2023 and 2024 are "a drop in the ocean".
The Divi is also calling for the development of telemedical structures in the field of children's emergency medicine, the establishment of specialized transport teams for children and the creation of a supra-regional coordination office for children's intensive care transports. In addition, the centers for intensive care medicine should be expanded to include pediatric medicine, said Sebastian Brenner, the pediatricians' representative on the Divi Presidium.
- The current situation in German children's hospitals is concerning, as highlighted by the Divi, with issues such as staff shortages, bed shortages, and underfunding leading to a worsening health situation for seriously ill children, particularly in intensive care units.
- To address these challenges, the Divi suggests implementing more flexible working time models for nursing staff, improving pay, and investing more funds in children's hospitals, recognizing that the additional 300 million euros allocated by the federal government is not sufficient.
Source: www.dpa.com
