The upcoming relaxation of Corona procedures will not lead to a peak in the number of ICU admissions because vaccination is now on the right track, says the doctor and chief of staff of the Dutch Association for Intensive Care (NVIC) Diederik Gommers against ANP. The current stress on intensive care units (ICs) is, according to the IC doctor, a result of the lack of compliance with current Corona measurements.
On Saturday, a group of intensive care specialists from Brabant Hospitals wrote in a letter to the Ministry of Health that “the Dutch population does not seem to realize how close we are by the time our maximum IC capacity is being reached”.
Gommers understands that people are concerned about the situation in hospitals, but asserts that the current pressure on integrated circuits “has nothing to do with mitigation”.
The fact that the integrated circuits are now so full is a result of our behavior three weeks ago, according to an IC doctor. “The weather was fine in early April, and everyone was close together in the parks. Now you can see that in the hospital numbers.” In addition, people are not taking it closely at this time with a number of Corona measures, such as arranging visitors. “We do not expect this behavior to change much as a result of this mitigation.”
“We realize that it is still very difficult in hospitals.”
The disadvantage of opening the stands and abandoning the curfew, according to Gommers, is that people may think that the crisis is already over and that they are less likely to adhere to the ground rules. “This is dangerous. We’ve already partially stopped critically planned care, and the necessary operations within six weeks. You can’t do it for too long. That’s why I keep saying: I realize it’s still very difficult in hospitals.”
Gummers says vaccination should ultimately help us out of the crisis. “We are vaccinating like crazy right now. That’s the key. If something goes wrong with vaccination in the coming weeks, we will have a big problem.”
The Ministry of Health also understands the concerns of the intense Brabant. A spokesperson said, “The situation in hospitals receives our full attention. We are in constant contact with hospital staff and the National Acute Care Network (LNAZ) and hear the signals loud and clear.”
“At the same time, there is also a loud call for perspective from society. So the Cabinet has always put broad social considerations into decision-making, and that was the reason for taking a cautious first step as of April 28. Eye on expectations.”
