About 1,000 people gathered in Heerlen on Saturday afternoon for a demonstration to preserve the emergency room (ER) and the hospital block of the Zuyderland Hospital in the municipality of Limburg. The hospital wants to restructure the emergency room and the hospital block and move them to Zuyderland in Sittard-Geleen in 2030. According to the hospital, there is no escape from this plan due to the ever-increasing shortage of staff.
While the Dutch government has blocked an extension to the cabinet's coronavirus law, experts warn that the Netherlands could face another lockdown in the a.
Crucial operations under threat as coronavirus spreads through hospitals
Photo: Depositphotos.com
Hospitals in the Netherlands could have to postpone crucial operations such as cancer surgery and kidney transplantations if the number of Covid-19 patients continues to rise, the healthcare authority NZa has warned.
A spokesman told the Telegraaf that ‘critical scheduled operations’ that normally have to be carried out within six weeks were under threat because of a shortage of beds and staff.
More than 2,700 people are currently being treated in hospital for coronavirus, includng nearly 700 in intensive care, surpassing the peak of the second wave in early November, and the numbers are still rising.