While the flu has hit Belgium hard since the end of December, hospitals are struggling to cope. Medical staff, already tested by years of pandemic, anticipate a peak within two weeks, worsening a critical situation.
For several weeks, the country’s emergency services, such as those at CHR Namur, have been overwhelmed. Flu symptoms – fever, muscle pain, feverish state – push many patients to seek medical attention.
While some cases are quickly treated, fragile people often require hospitalization, which puts pressure on a hospital system that is already overloaded.
“Today, around noon, the occupancy rate was maximum in our hospital. This complicates the reception of acute patients who must receive appropriate care. We manage to treat them, but it is difficult to integrate them into a traditional and adequate sector.“, explains Pierre Bouchat, emergency doctor at the CHR – Meuse site.
If young people and people without serious history can be treated quickly, this is not the case for vulnerable patients, often suffering from comorbidities.
-More complex care for at-risk patients
These situations require hospitalization, which further increases the burden on medical teams. “When they are patients with other problems, this becomes a difficulty. We must welcome them and find them hospitalization“, underlines Pierre Bouchat.
Faced with this tense situation, emergency services remind us of the importance of first contacting your general practitioner in the event of non-serious symptoms. They can refer patients requiring care to hospital services.
With nearly 500,000 cases of flu recorded each year in Belgium, the pressure is not easing. Hospital staff remain on alert, expecting an imminent peak in the next two weeks.
overwhelmed emergencies CHR Namur flu in Belgium flu symptoms fever and muscle pains saturation of hospitals Belgian hospital system Pierre Bouchat CHR Meuse
