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Wallis Hospital has sounded the alarm. The space gets narrow. However, the situation is not critical throughout the canton.
“The situation is critical,” says Eric Bonvin, director of the hospital in French-speaking Valais. The first Covid patients should have already been transferred to the Upper Valais hospital center. There were two patients who did not require ventilation.
“Now we are looking with other hospitals to see if they can also accept patients from us,” Bonvin said. Also think of other sanitary facilities in the canton of Valais. For example, private clinics are being converted to accommodate Covid patients. Furthermore, there is cooperation between hospitals in French-speaking Switzerland.
Different situation in the canton.
Hugo Burgener, director of the Upper Valais hospital in the German-speaking part of the canton, adds that an agreement is being reached with the German-speaking cantons. With 15 Covid patients, the situation is still relatively calm.
We need help from outside.
In contrast, there are currently 124 Covid patients in French-speaking Valais hospitals. There are still some free spots, says Eric Bonvin. The number of hospitalizations is increasing so strongly that they will be busy in the coming days. “We need help from outside.”
The Lower Valais hospitals are in the same situation as in March, when the first wave peaked. Only the measures were taken later and there is also a lack of staff. “We have fewer resources than in the spring,” says the director of the Bonvin hospital, who is now looking for additional external staff.
Retired people are being contacted and students from the Valais University of Applied Sciences have temporarily suspended their classes and are working at the Sion and Martinach hospitals.
Positive tested staff in action
If really necessary, the nurses who tested positive could also work. “If an area is urgently dependent on staff, it can turn to those who have tested positive,” says Bonvin.
However, this is voluntary and staff should not show any symptoms. “These are very rare situations, but they are safe for both patients and staff.”
The second call for help
Hospital director Eric Bonvin had already raised the alarm last Sunday. The canton of Valais tightened its measures last Wednesday. “Yes, they listened to us,” says Bonvin. Now he hopes that the Federal Council hears its second alarm.
