Health services staff shortage hurts disease outbreak response

Staff shortages at the municipal health services GGD could cause problems in the health services' ability to respond to infectious disease outbreaks. And this while the risk of such outbreaks is increasing due to people traveling more, according to a report by GGD umbrella organization GGDGHOR, AD reports. "There is an impending shortage of well-trained, specialized professionals", according to the report. The shortage also puts pressure on the research into antibiotic resistance. The report attributes the staff shortage to a number of causes. First and foremost is the extra tasks municipalities took over from the government in the decentralization of healthcare last year. A spokesperson for the GGDGHOR told AD tat international changes also play their part in putting pressure on healthcare services' capacity. Such changes include the increased influx of asylum seekers, the emergence of new infectious diseases and antibiotic resistance.