Surgeries canceled at children's ICU in Maastricht due to staff shortage

The children's ICU at the MUMC+ in Maastricht has had to cancel several operations due to staff shortages, 1Limburg reported. The MUMC+ is the only hospital with a children's ICU in Limburg.

"We always try to find a way for regular care to continue but sometimes it is not possible," pediatrician Dick van Waardenburg said.

So far, the MUMC+ has had to turn away patients from surgeries or from admission entirely 35 times.

It has been challenging to find staff with adequate qualifications to work in the pediatrics department. "They always have to follow a special training. That is where you see the difference between the children's and the adult ICU," Van Waardenburg said.

If the operations cannot be held in Maastricht, the hospital sends the children to medical centers abroad in Belgium and Germany.