Up to 30 beds will be added to the emergency department in the coming weeks. This was announced at a meeting of ambulance nurses with the management of the Landspítali. Nurses say that radical, long-term action is needed throughout the healthcare system and that health authorities need to step in more vigorously.
The grave situation in the Landspítali Emergency Department was once again shown on the news this week, and nurses sent an emergency statement to the authorities for the safety of patients and overworked staff. It is not uncommon for forty of the ward’s patients to be found in the corridors and staff canteens. After discussions in the media, their number was temporarily reduced and, for example, today only sixteen patients waited at noon.
Helga Rósa Másdóttir, head of the emergency department at Landspítali in Fossvogur, says the conversation was very much needed. “I think we managed to get the message across and of course we hope that what we said will be taken into account,” says Helga.
“We are trying to add around thirty beds in the coming weeks and months, but much more staff will be needed to care for additional patients.” Says Sigríður Gunnarsdóttir, director of nursing at Landspítalinn.
Helga Rósa, Sigríður and everyone who knows them know that this is only one solution to the problem. The most urgent thing to do is to increase the number of nurses, home carers, educate more health professionals, and so on.
It has been known for many years that there is a need to increase the number of places in hospitals and the number of hospital employees.
“Needs are growing” Says Sigríður. We knew from the middle of the last century that there would be a large increase in the number of people who used the health services the most – this is the elderly group. We are just seeing this anticipation coming true, and for several years now. That is why we have to be farsighted and act vigorously in line with these predictions. “