Covid pressure forcing hospitals to pause catching up on delayed care

The VieCuri hospital in Venlo and Venray is also partially scaling down regular care and stopping catch-up care due to the new influx of coronavirus patients.

"We only postpone operations and treatments if it is medically justified. Fortunately, we were already doing very well with the catch-up care. We have already been able to provide about 80 percent of that care," said chairman of the executive board IJsbrand Schouten.

"We think this is terrible but necessary," he continued. "We are very concerned about the well-being of our employees. The problem is that the influx of mainly coronavirus patients has come very quickly and is a lot. At the same time, transferring coronavirus patients to other hospitals is hardly possible. Other hospitals are also overloaded."

The appointments at the outpatient clinics will continue for the time being. Acute care, obstetric care, emergency care, emergency cardiac care, and oncology will also continue unabated.

VieCuri said it hopes for new "substantial" measures from the government. "Vaccinating against the coronavirus is a fee choice. We respect that. Everyone is and will remain welcome at VieCuri. But we see that vaccinating against the coronavirus really helps," said Schouten.

The St. Jans Gasthuis in Weert also reduced care due to the increase in coronavirus patients. A new coronavirus department was opened where nurses are needed, so they are no longer available elsewhere.

More hospitals are scaling down regular care or stopping catch-up care. The catch-up care is also stopped in the Zuid-Holland regions of Haaglanden and Hollands Midden, which have seven hospitals.