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The scenario that health experts described in Friday’s edition of OÖNachrichten is quite bleak: In the face of rising corona infections, national hospitals are likely to reach their capacity limits in the next week and a half. The experts from Health Austria (GÖG), Meduni Vienna and TU Vienna calculate this in their short-term forecast for the Ministry of Health. Specifically, November 18 is mentioned as the day the “emergency” occurs with 760 Covid intensive care patients. This is how GÖG CEO Herwig Ostermann puts it.
“The situation is very serious”
The deputy governor responsible for health in Upper Austria. Christine Haberlander (VP) adds: “The situation is really very serious.” In addition to an appeal to the population to adhere strictly and systematically to the corona measures, those responsible in the national health system are trying to do everything possible to prevent the imminent collapse of the intensive care units. “Hospitals are planning ahead as best they can in view of the rapidly increasing number of cases,” says the country’s Corona crisis team. In a first step, capacities in intensive care units will be increased, in the form of 50 additional ventilation sites.
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There are currently 250 intensive care beds in Upper Austrian hospitals, 100 of which are reserved for Covid-19 cases. As of Friday afternoon, 79 of these 100 beds were occupied. With the increase, 150 intubation sites will be available especially for crown patients starting next week. In order to fill these new staff positions, hospitals currently “would only attend to acute and urgent illnesses. With this increase, the burden should be manageable,” the crisis team expects.
The Vinzenz Group, to which the Ordensklinikum Linz and Barmherzigen Sisters hospital in Ried in Upper Austria belong, was optimistic on Friday that they could avoid the worst case scenario. Managing Director Michael Heinisch says we are involved in the inter-agency crisis plans for Upper Austria: “As a private non-profit organization, it goes without saying that we are doing everything we can to face the acute challenges of the coming weeks together.”
Worst case: triage
But what if not? What happens after November 18 with those patients who need intensive care but cannot find a place? Then “more capacity expansions would have to be made,” says the crisis team. As in the spring, alternative accommodations could be created for hospital patients who do not need intensive care. That is currently in preparation. Details on where these accommodations are and how many patients they could accommodate are not yet available.
The worst case that can be prevented is the so-called “triage”. In medicine, it describes the process in which patients are selected in case of capacity overload and is used, for example, in serious mass accidents. Only those patients with the highest probability of survival receive the maximum intensive treatment. ARGE Ethik created guidelines for doctors and patients in March for this case. According to the director of ARGE, Barbara Friesenecker, the four criteria include not only age, but also comorbidities, classification of frailty and severity of the disease, and the will of the patient. Based on these criteria, a decision must be made which patient will be intubated first if hospitals are overloaded.
Article of
Christian ortner
