Dordrecht hospital stops taking Covid patients; All beds occupied

The Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Dordrecht will not admit any new Covid-19 patients for at least 24 hours. Every bed in the hospital is occupied. And the hospital has been unable to open another Covid-19 ward, because many of its staff members are themselves sick at home with the virus, CEO Peter van der Meer said in a statement.

The hospital has 41 coronavirus beds, including six in intensive care. For some time now, more coronavirus patients have been admitted than discharged. The "critical point" was reached on Monday.

"Every bed in the hospital is taken. Every day there are significant numbers of colleagues who have to call n sick because they themselves have the coronavirus," Van der Meer said. Regular care and surgeries have been postponed as much as possible. The hospital could see no other way than to stop taking in new Covid-19 patients.

The GPs and ambulance services in the area have been notified not to refer or bring Covid-19 patients to the Albert Schweitzer Hospital unless they are in life threatening condition. The hospital will reassess the situation at noon on Tuesday.

"The choice to temporarily close the hospital for new corona patients is diametrically opposed to our sense of duty and our social function," Van der Meer said. "But there is no other option without compromising quality and safety for the patients now entrusted to our care. We cannot justify the latter in any why. That is why we chose the lesser of two evils."

According to Van der Meer, the fact that they can still provide care at all is thanks to the hospitals' employees and other healthcare workers in the region. "But their commitment also has limits. Our hospital is cracking and the system is cracking," he said.

On Friday, Minister Tamara van Ark for Medical care said that hospitals will be obliged to reserve space for the admission of Covid-19 patients. The LCPS, the center responsible for patient distribution, will notify them a week in advance how many beds they must have available, according to NOS.

A spokesperson for the LCPS told the broadcaster that the Albert Schweitzer Hospital was "already above the beds that we actually intended for corona patients there." According to her, the fact that the hospital had to stop taking patients shows how great the pressure on the healthcare system is at the moment.

Patients who can't go to the Albert Schweitzer Hospital will be admitted to other hospitals in the region.