Netherlands - Shortage of ICU beds due to RS virus

[Gert van der Hoek]

Shortage of hospital beds in North Holland due to virus

December 21, 2016

North Holland is short of hospital beds as there are so many children sick with a virus, reports the NH regional broadcaster.

Some of the children will be transported to other areas in the country because ? according to a survey of hospitals conducted by NH ? so many children?s wards are full. The problems have been caused by the RS virus, a variant of the common cold that affects the respiratory system, especially in children under two.

Symptoms include difficulty breathing, breathlessness, diarrhoea and vomiting, and for babies under three months, the virus can be life threatening.

[Gert van der Hoek]

Intensive Care departments for children are overcrowded


ICU's for children are overcrowded. The children's ICUs are faced with a massive influx of patients by an outbreak of the RS virus. Some children have therefore been sent to other ICUs, said pediatrician Frederique Hofstede of the Juliana Children's Hospital in The Hague.
Because only university hospitals have ICUs for children there are capacity problems. UMC Utrecht is trying to limit the crowds by postponing non-emergency surgeries. In Rotterdam canceled all leaves of personnel and doctors of ICUs for adults', they are used in children's wards.


Earlier today, the regional broadcasting NH reported full hospitals. But according to a tour of the NOS the problems can be found in hospitals in the Western part of the Netherlands. Many children with the RS virus were administered in the past two weeks. This leads to a shortage of beds, so that children are taken to other parts of the country.

RS virus is particularly common in winter in the Netherlands. Adults suffer from colds. Children can become very ill because the virus attacks the respiratory tract. Especially small children are prone to it, said pediatrician Hofstede.

Transporting children to other hospitals is complicated because there are a limited number of ambulances available, says Hofstede. According to her there are no children been endangered by the capacity shortage. "Through acrobatics we have been able to provide safe and quality care. But it may take a long time before children get a permanent place."