Hospitals across the country are introducing restrictions and bans on visiting patients. This is the effect of a triple epidemic – as doctors call the increase in diseases – influenza, RSV and coronavirus. Many branches are overcrowded.
Polish hospitals are facing a “tridemic” – a triple epidemic of influenza, RSV and coronavirus. Due to the growing number of infections, more facilities are introducing restrictions on patient visits. Some prohibit visits altogether. No wonder – doctors are alarming about record high number of infectionsalthough they admit that in the last two weeks some stabilization is seen. For now, however, not optimistic enough to depart from the increased security rules.
Visits only in a life-threatening condition and with consent. Because patients were “superinfected”
The county hospital in Oświęcim, among others, decided to completely ban visitors. The clinic informed that it applies to all wards. Exempted from the ban are only life-threatening situations and cases where consent is given by the director of the hospital or the doctor in charge of the ward.
No visits to the hospital in OświęcimTVN24
Almost all places in the internal medicine ward of the Oświęcim hospital are occupied. – In the internal medicine ward, where we have about 96 beds, we have almost 94 beds occupied by adult patients who are hospitalized in the field of infectious diseases – told TVN24 reporter Edward Piechulek, hospital director, explaining the decision to introduce restrictions. He emphasized that patients come to the hospital with symptoms such as high fever, persistent cough and weakness of the body.
The doors to visitors were also closed by the authorities of the hospital in Nowy Targ. The facility informed that hospitalized loved ones can only be contacted by phone – special telephone numbers have been launched in each of the wards for this purpose. – There were situations in which patients admitted to the wards were “superinfected” during their stay – told our reporter Dr. Aleksandra Chowaniec, deputy director for health care.
Maximum 20 minutes visit
Restrictions have been introduced, among others, in the hospitals of St. Louis I MIA in Kraków, the Kielce Regional Hospital, as well as in hospitals in Rzeszów, Tarnów and Wadowice. In Upper Silesia, most facilities have already introduced restrictions. For example, in the municipal hospital in Częstochowa, visits can last a maximum of 20 minutes, and the hospital in Katowice has set this limit at 30 minutes.
Restrictions and the difficult epidemic situation are particularly hard on parents and their hospitalized children. In the pediatric ward of the city hospital number 4 in Gliwice, there are five children infected with influenza, three with RSV and two with COVID-19. All beds are occupied. Each child can only visit one parent at a time. – Restrictions result from the epidemiological situation. We protect patients, but also staff, because sickness absences related to influenza infection have already appeared – said the director of the Gliwice hospital, Przemysław Gliklich.
Very similar restrictions were also introduced by the University Children’s Hospital in Krakow. The facility informed that only one guardian can come to minor patients and he must be absolutely healthy. Due to the epidemic situation, the use of playrooms is also limited.
According to the statistics of the National Institute of Public Health of the National Institute of Hygiene – National Research Institute, from September 2022 to the end of December 2022, almost 2.5 million cases of influenza and its suspicions were recorded in Poland, of which over 1.1 million in December.
Main photo source: TVN24