Illustrative stock photo (source: Archive of Sme)
The Faculty Hospital in Žilina summoned a crisis staff meeting on October 4 to discuss the critical deterioration of the situation and the development of the health of patients with Covid-19.
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The Faculty Hospital also asked other hospitals with departments of infectious diseases and pulmonology to help it deal with the placement of Covid patients.
“When there were not so many patients, the hospitals in Nové Zámky, Trnava, Banská Bystrica also helped us,” said Igor Bízik of the hospital, as quoted by the TASR newswire. “But the situation is deteriorating, and other hospitals in other regions may have to help as well.”
Limiting of planned surgeries
Currently, 38 people are hospitalised in the Covid pavilion in Žilina, most in serious condition.
Since several health professionals had to be moved to Covid patients, the hospital decided to scrap the planned surgeries. Births, urgent and oncological procedures will be kept, said the hospital's spokesperson, Lenka Záteková.
The shifting of several professionals, including those working at the department of anaesthesiology or at the intensive care unit, means that the staff performing surgeries will be significantly limited.
“We have no other choice than to limit the surgeries that can be postponed,” said Bízik, as quoted by TASR.
The Žilina hospital is not the first one to limit planned surgeries. This step was already taken by the hospitals in Nitra and Trenčín, while the hospital in Liptovský Mikuláš cut the number of planned surgeries by half.
Seven people have died in the hospital since September
Záteková said that the number of people admitted to the hospital with Covid-19 started to significantly increase last week.
“Since Friday, we have admitted 17 new patients,” Záteková said, as quoted by TASR. “Three quarters of hospitalised patients are unvaccinated. The youngest hospitalised patient is 21 years old, unvaccinated, and without any other diagnoses.”
Since the start of September, seven people have died in the hospital, she added. She went on to say that most Covid patients are currently hospitalised in Žilina and Čadca.
“Neither hospital has any department of infectious diseases or pulmonology,” she noted, as quoted by TASR, adding that this is why they have problems with staff in the Covid department.
