;Resize=(1200,627)&impolicy=perceptual&quality=mediumHigh&hash=4ac77933ff68b26f014abdf79f4be62e40af860d144165e92d341eaca4406f45 "Pediatric intensive care physician raises the alarm – care of the little ones is endangered")
“The search begins at half past six in the morning,” says Ellen Heimberg to “Welt”. She is deputy spokesperson for the “Pediatric Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine” section of the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (DIVI). It’s about finding free beds and operating theaters for seriously ill children. According to her, the children’s intensive care units in Germany are severely understaffed in every respect.
When asked why the care of seriously ill children is at risk, Heimberg replies: “Because we lack nursing staff to a really serious extent – not just since the corona pandemic.” The doctor emphasizes that the situation has never changed in the last 15 years was that bad. “Ultimately, it means that we cannot occupy beds.”
Children’s intensive care units at the limit – winter is just coming
Despite the summer and the end of the pandemic, the stations are at the limit. Heimberg expresses her concern with regard to the winter months, in which she expects bottlenecks similar to those of the previous year. “I think we have to expect further waves of infection,” she says. Heimberg also criticizes the lack of support and improvements promised by Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD).
Another problem is the constant supply bottlenecks for medicines. Every week another one is missing, and replacing these drugs is much more complicated in children than in adults. In addition, important medical devices such as hemodialysis catheters are also apparently in short supply.
Lack of nursing staff is the biggest problem for clinics
Heimberg emphasizes that the lack of staff is the biggest problem. “We have to manage to improve the working conditions and thus the job satisfaction for the nursing staff,” she says to the “world“.