Intensive care departments are being closed more often due to too many patients

Hospital emergency rooms have to temporarily close more often and for longer periods of time. The pressure on the intensive care units is so high, that often the emergency care departments have to put in a temporary stop on receiving patients. The emergency care departments closed for an average of around 40 hours in the first quarter of this year compared to the 35 hours closed last year, according to an ANP analysis of statistics provided by national acute care network LNAZ.

The emergency care departments were closed most often in the Noord-Nederland-Groningen and Friesland-Drenthe regions. The departments in these areas closed for an average of 107 hours in the first quarter. Brabant did the best in this aspect, with an average of just three hours.

David Baden, emergency doctor and chair of the Dutch Society of Emergency Physicians, said that the increase in departments being closed is a bad sign. “It shows that the pressure on intensive care is increasing. A closed department is the last step for an overloaded system; you only decide to close when there is no other option. Excessive crowdedness also results in a loss in quality regarding the care provided.”

However, Baden agrees that closing the department is, at times, the right thing to do. He thinks that this leads to better care for other patients.

According to the LNAZ, excessive pressure on intensive care is due to the aging population and the increase in vulnerable older adults. The staff shortage in the care industry also plays a part. The number of people with complex health issues is increasing, but the number of healthcare workers is not growing with it.

Baden thinks that the shortages in home care and nursing care also play a part, as patients stay in the hospital for longer than necessary, which influences the capacity for receiving patients. The LNAZ thinks that the solution lies in making the care sector future-proof. Baden also pleads for investments in general practitioners and the population’s health.

A department being closed does not mean all patients are denied entry. A patient can be allowed in if the hospital knows the patient or in an emergency.

Other patients are sent to a different hospital. This happened on average twenty times per emergency department in the first months of this year.