At the only children’s Intensive Care (IC) of the UMC+ in Maastricht in Limburg, almost all beds are full. That reports L1. Just like nationally, the children’s wards are currently experiencing a peak due to the RS virus in particular. Of the eight available IC beds in the MUMC+, six are currently operational.
“We are very busy, there are many children with RS virus infections or respiratory infections, but we just made it,” says the head of the children’s department of the MUMC+ and Professor of Pediatrics Gertjan Driessen.
An emergency meeting was held on Tuesday evening where medical specialists from all seven national University Medical Centers (UMCs) discuss further measures. Last week, the MUMC+ decided to cancel non-emergency operations. The consultation showed that measures such as transferring patients to other (IC) pediatric wards in the country or further scaling down the planned care will take place if necessary. “If that means keeping an IC bed free by canceling an operation, we will do that. But no completely new package of measures has been created,” Driessen said.
Although all Dutch UMCs are at maximum capacity, it is still manageable according to Driessen and no different from the years before the pandemic. Because everyone has been less exposed to viruses since corona, including children, resistance is less. Previously, the ICs on the children’s wards had already had to deal with a peak of young patients due to virus infections. “They are part of this time of year. Every year, therefore, there is a consultation between the academic hospitals to see how the pressure can be distributed and better regulated,” says Driessen.
One in a thousand children with the RS-Virus ends up in the ICU due to complications. There are 100 IC beds for children in total available in the Netherlands. Whether that is not on the low side is therefore a valid question, according to Driessen. He also states that it is not just about the number of physical beds. Every bed needs hands and feet in the form of staff who can care for patients. When there are no staff, ‘beds must be closed’. There is currently a shortage of nursing, due to pressure from corona whereby staff were deployed in other departments, but also due to absenteeism due to the same viruses. “It is therefore actually a political discussion.”