Spain's ER's in crisis due to flu and stomach bug

[Guest guest]

Spanish accident and emergency departments in crisis due to flu and

stomach bug

It has become normal to see Spanish accident and emergency departments

full of patients, even up to the point where patients need to wait on

beds in the corridor at this time of year. However, over the last few

weeks some Spanish hospitals have treated record numbers of patients

some of which had to wait up to 12 hours before receiving treatment

from a doctor. This situation has arisen due to a simple flu and

stomach bug. However according to the General Director of Public

Health, Oñorbe, the 2008 flu virus is not half as virulent as

in previous years. He indicated that 150 cases per 100,000 inhabitants

is far from the numbers for 2000 and 2005 where were 600 cases per

100,000.

Given that this is a situation which arises every year around the same

time some people have asked why hospitals in Spain find it so

difficult to cope and why they don't plan better.

There are a number of reasons to explain why hospitals still find it

so difficult to accommodate flu epidemics. Firstly, the number of

routine operations don't go down which means that many beds are

occupied. Another reason is lack of planning of staff holidays over

the Christmas period and the fact that more than half of hospital

admissions are through accident and emergency departments (out of 24.5

million people treated 3 million are admitted). In addition it appears

that Spanish doctors are turning to other specialities where they have

better chances of promotion.

Moya, the head of accident and emergency in the Puerta de

Hierro Hospital in Madrid said that it is becoming more and more

difficult to fill posts in his department. In addition the Spanish

population has increased in recent years.

In Galicia the incidence of flu has created serious problems in

hospitals which have seen the number of people attending accident and

emergency shoot up by 25% compared to figures for last year. Some

patients have had to wait between 8 and 12 hours to be seen. The

Galician health service has opened a telephone line for patients to

consult before going to their nearest hospital (902 40 01 16).

Hospitals in Valencia are experiencing fewer problems except for the

General hospital in Alicante which has an excess of patients with flu

symptoms. According to hospital authorities a large number of patients

are not really urgent cases but have had to resort to coming to

hospital to avoid having to wait days before being able to get an

appointment with their local GP.

In the Basque Country accident and emergency departments have been

finding it difficult to cope with the number of patients attending

with flu symptoms. Although officials say that things are under

control union officials have spoken of chaos in some hospitals. It is

expected that things will worsen here in the next few days.

The situation in Madrid seems to be under control with beds in

corridors considered as almost normal at this time of year.

In Andalucia the flu virus appears to be under control with the number

of cases going down – 91% less than last year.

http://www.euroresidentes.com/Blogs/2008/01/flu-and-stomach-bug-causes-havoc-in.\

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