When Denmark was hit by the corona epidemic in the spring, there were suddenly significantly fewer people who sought medical help.
Also people with pain in the psyche to some extent failed to go to the doctor.
The consequences of this are now being felt in psychiatry in the Central Jutland Region.
Here, people are struggling with overcrowding in the psychiatric wards, where the occupancy has recently been between 100 and 120 percent.
– There are several reasons. But part of it is due to the corona situation in the spring and over the summer, where some patients have probably neglected to seek help at the time they needed it, says director of Psychiatry in the Central Jutland Region Tina Ebler.
– So some have gone and become more ill during that period, she says.
Another factor, according to the director, is that both municipalities and the region have increasingly switched to communicating with psychiatric patients via telephone and video under the corona.
– So you have not had the support in your home that you usually have. It may also have made some people feel worse, says Tina Ebler.
Finally, the closure of the courts in the spring has meant that some patients have waited longer than usual for judicial decisions and have not been able to be discharged.
Overall, this has increased the pressure on the psychiatric beds in the Central Jutland region.
However, no one in need of hospitalization is rejected, the director assures.
– We want the patients who need our help and for hospitalization to come to us. That’s why we have overcrowding.
– But it is not fun for either patients or employees, so we want to avoid that situation, says Tina Ebler.
According to the director, it only happens “very rarely” that there are beds in the hallways of the psychiatric wards.
One tries to solve the problem by including, for example, activity rooms.
According to Tina Ebler, there are more beds on the way, which in the long term can solve the problem.
In the Region of Southern Denmark, no corresponding increased pressure has been seen on the psychiatric wards.
Here, 533 out of 597 beds are currently in use, says secretariat and communications manager John Zola.
Here, people are struggling with overcrowding in the psychiatric wards, where the occupancy has recently been between 100 and 120 percent.
– There are several reasons. But part of it is due to the corona situation in the spring and over the summer, where some patients have probably neglected to seek help at the time they needed it, says director of Psychiatry in the Central Jutland Region Tina Ebler.
– So some have gone and become more ill during that period, she says.
Another factor, according to the director, is that both municipalities and the region have increasingly switched to communicating with psychiatric patients via telephone and video under the corona.
– So you have not had the support in your home that you usually have. It may also have made some people feel worse, says Tina Ebler.
Finally, the closure of the courts in the spring has meant that some patients have waited longer than usual for judicial decisions and have not been able to be discharged.
Overall, this has increased the pressure on the psychiatric beds in the Central Jutland region.
However, no one in need of hospitalization is rejected, the director assures.
– We want the patients who need our help and for hospitalization to come to us. That’s why we have overcrowding.
– But it is not fun for either patients or employees, so we want to avoid that situation, says Tina Ebler.
According to the director, it only happens “very rarely” that there are beds in the hallways of the psychiatric wards.
One tries to solve the problem by including, for example, activity rooms.
According to Tina Ebler, there are more beds on the way, which in the long term can solve the problem.
In the Region of Southern Denmark, no corresponding increased pressure has been seen on the psychiatric wards.
Here, 533 out of 597 beds are currently in use, says secretariat and communications manager John Zola.
Source: The Nordic Page