Due to an increase in respiratory infections, hospitals in Liège must redouble their efforts to accommodate patients. The Citadelle Hospital in Liège had to reduce its surgical and medical activities by 20% to reschedule them, reports notably La Libre Belgique, The Last Hour et The Future.
“For several days, we have been overwhelmed by cases of flu,” explains Guillaume Dhoen, deputy medical director of the Liège hospital. “This morning we asked for help from all hospitals in the province at the same time, but no one was able to respond, as we are all facing simultaneous saturation of our emergency departments and our emergency beds. ‘hospitalization. We crossed the epidemic threshold around ten days ago, but since the second half of last week, we have observed a clear acceleration. »
At the Citadelle Hospital, thirty patients are currently hospitalized for the flu, ten for the coronavirus and ten for an RSV infection. “Fifty patients is a lot for our hospital,” explains Guillaume Dhoen. A strict triage procedure has been put in place to determine who needs to be hospitalized and who can be treated at home. These mainly concern patients aged 50 to 80, sometimes suffering from underlying heart and/or kidney diseases.
Patient grouping
The lack of nursing staff aggravates the impact of the flu epidemic in Liège. “This week, we will cancel 15 to 20% of planned surgical and medical activities. My colleagues from other hospitals have made similar decisions,” says Guillaume Dhoen. Patients admitted to hospital are tested. Ideally, they should be placed in isolation, but “if we run out of space, we group them together: Covid cases together, flu cases together, to avoid cross-contamination. »
Infectious disease specialist Yves Van Laethem emphasizes that the effectiveness of the flu vaccine is relative. “In a 45-year-old baker in good health, vaccinated to avoid closing his business, the efficiency exceeds 70%. For a 94-year-old grandmother living in a nursing home, it is around 40 to 50%. »
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