Children’s hospitals are understaffed

Winter is becoming a test for pediatric hospitals, reports today’s “Sontagsblick”. Because the staff shortage becomes more acute in winter with its viral illnesses that affect both children and staff.

Therefore, especially the need for painful measures, including the reduction of the number of beds, the postponement of operations and the transfer of sick children (Zurich to Bern or Lugano to Zurich). Because the Zurich hospital is particularly affected. So we are forced to readjust the bed capacity every day.

These peaks of activity, however, should subside in the spring, notes spokesman Bojan Josifovic: “It is especially hospitals in big cities that are most affected by the shortage. And specialized fields like paediatrics especially suffer from shortage of doctors,” he adds.

But staff shortages are also structural, notes Malte Frenzel of AllKidS, an association of pediatric hospitals in Switzerland. Care for critically ill children is guaranteed. However, emergency room waits may be longer for children with less serious health problems. This represents additional stress for parents of children who are ill or who must be relocated.

Note that transfer is inevitable when capacities of pediatric hospitals are insufficient. According to Malte Frenzel, they represent the only way to guarantee continuous and effective treatment of all patients.

Faced with staff shortages, some hospitals have created “nursing staff pools”: employees who work at low occupancy rates or on temporary assignments and are compensated when they are on short-term calls.

To avoid these crisis practices, AllKidS wants to create a more attractive work model, notes Malte Frenzel. “Pediatrics and adolescent medicine enjoy a good reputation,” he adds. This helps in advertising to take up activity in this sector.”