published
Because of a shortage of skilled workers Zurich children’s hospital cannot admit a sick baby as an inpatient
A three-month-old baby becomes infected with a respiratory disease. However, the Zurich Children’s Hospital was unable to admit the infant due to a lack of capacity.
The baby was treated at the Zurich Children’s Hospital, but because he needed oxygen and had to be observed, he had to be admitted to the hospital.
20min/Marco Zangger
Due to the shortage of skilled workers, the children’s hospital had to move the baby to the cantonal hospital in Graubünden.
20min/tam
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A three-month-old baby with a respiratory disease is treated in an emergency at the Zurich Children’s Hospital.
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The infant required oxygen and was hospitalized for observation. However, due to the lack of skilled workers, the child had to be transferred to a non-cantonal hospital in Chur.
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The child’s parents also experience a stressful time because of the distance.
A three-month-old baby recently had major difficulty breathing. “At first we thought it was a cold. But then my daughter’s condition deteriorated», says the father, AH*(36). The parents therefore decided to see the family doctor. As it turned out, the girl had a respiratory disease, the Respiratorischen Synzytial-Virus (RSV), infected. The family doctor advised the parents to go to the Zurich Children’s Hospital because the virus might cause complications in babies and small children.
The infant was treated immediately in the children’s hospital. However, since the child’s condition was not stable and it needed oxygen, hospitalization was necessary. “Due to the shortage of skilled workers, we were told, this is not possible in the children’s hospital. We were therefore told that our daughter had to be transferred to another hospital – to Lucerne or Chur,” said the 36-year-old. The parents decided on the children’s clinic in the canton of Graubünden. The baby was transported by ambulance to the hospital, which was almost an hour and a half away by car.
As AH reports, his daughter’s condition is now stable, but she is being transferred to the intensive care unit to be on the safe side. The parents are exhausted: “Because the hospital is so far away, my girlfriend and I stay here.” To do this, he had to rent an additional room in the hospital and take time off from work. Despite the circumstances, the parents have understanding for the children’s hospital, the criticism lies with politicians: “It cannot be that, despite the accepted care initiative, almost nothing has happened and the shortage of skilled workers continues to worsen.”
Reserve beds for seriously ill children
At the request of 20 minutes, Gregor Staubli, chief physician of the emergency department of the children’s hospital in Zurich, confirmed the incident. He explains: “On average, we admit ten to eighteen children per day as an emergency room. If we only have one or two beds free towards the evening, we have to keep them free for children with serious illnesses, such as cancer or heart disease. »
In the case of the three-month-old baby, according to Staubli, the beds in the children’s wards of the Zurich hospitals in Triemli and Winterthur were occupied, which is why one had to switch to a hospital outside the canton. The chief physician regrets the circumstances, especially as they mean stress for the parents, the hospital staff and the patients themselves. “Unfortunately, the shortage of skilled workers does not currently allow for any other solutions.”
As Bjarte Rogdo, chief physician for pediatrics and youth medicine at the cantonal hospital in Graubünden, reports, it is not unusual for babies, children and young people to be transferred to the non-cantonal hospital. The main reason is capacity bottlenecks among nursing and medical staff.
*Name known to editors
According to Bjarte Rogdo, chief physician of pediatric and adolescent medicine at Graubünden cantonal hospital, the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) usually occurred seasonally in the winter months. In the meantime, however, the hospital treats cases of this respiratory disease all year round. During the pandemic, however, there were hardly any cases in the Graubünden cantonal hospital due to the strong protective measures.