Healthcare will soon be overloaded, ER doctors warn

Emergency room doctors fear that hospitals will soon not be able to handle the influx of coronavirus patients. The Dutch Association of Emergency Aid Doctors (NVSHA) said that all attention is on the shortage of intensive care beds, but "the problem is bigger than that."

The association called it a "worrying situation" that emergency departments are becoming "absolutely overloaded." Several doctors spoke anonymously about the situation in the workplace. "There are all kinds of ambulances driving around that can't drop off their patients. This has nothing to do with ICU beds," said one of the doctors. According to them, there is a "general shortage of hospital beds." Another doctor called it "questionable" whether acute care can remain available to everyone.

NVSHA chairman David Baden said "a total blockage of acute care" is imminent. "The degree of freedom that we allow ourselves as a country has consequences for the people in our country," said Baden, who would like to see not only more direct and concrete measures for the short term but also that something is done about the staff shortage in healthcare.