Germany, the richest country in Europe, is running out of beds in intensive care

Potsdam, Germany (CNN) – Germany was seen as a beacon for other European countries during the first wave of coronavirus and hailed as one of the best health systems in the world. But it is now starting to fight more serious infections than at any other time during the pandemic.

Data on coronavirus infection in the country reached an all-time high on Friday, with nearly 24,000 new cases recorded daily. And the same happened with the number of patients in the country’s intensive care units.

Official data from the German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive and Emergency Medicine (DIVI) shows that the number of covid-19 patients in German intensive care units (ICUs) increased from 267 on September 21 to 3,615 on September 20. November, an increase of more than 13 times in just two months.

Germany, the largest economy in Europe

Europe’s largest economy has withstood the pandemic quite well, for now, compared to its neighbors. This is partly due to its high intensive care capacity with 33.9 beds per 100,000 inhabitants; On the contrary, Italy has only 8.6 per 100,000 inhabitants. But with ambitious cases on the rise in the region, the German healthcare system is also under pressure and hospitals in some areas are getting closer and closer to their limits.

German leadership warned on Friday that the system could collapse within weeks if the current trajectory continues. “The number of severe cases in ICU continues to increase. The death toll is something that is not really talked about and it is still very high, “said Steffen Seibert, spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“We haven’t been able to bring the numbers back to a low level yet. Basically we have only managed to overcome the first step so far, which is to stop the strong, strong and exponential increase in infections and now we are stable, but our numbers are still very, very high.

‘Patients deteriorate very quickly’

Michael Oppert, head of intensive care at Potsdam’s Ernst von Bergmann hospital outside Berlin, is also concerned about the dramatic increase in recent weeks and expects things to get worse.

“We’re not at the cutting edge now, at least from what I see,” he told a CNN team this week. “And we have the capacity for a few more patients, but if it continues at the pace we are experiencing right now, I imagine our hospital, with over 1,000 beds, will reach a point where we will have to send patients home or other hospitals. for treatment.

Bettina Schade, chief nurse of the Covid ward of the same hospital, described how the situation has changed in recent weeks. «The number of patients is increasing. We are receiving far more patients with varying degrees of disease. This is for the normal Covid ward, but many also come to the emergency room and have to be admitted very quickly to the ICU, “he said.” Currently we have to send many patients from the regular Covid ward to the ICU very quickly because patients deteriorate. very quickly”.

This also applies to many younger patients with severe symptoms, said Tillman Schumacher, a physician with expertise in infectious diseases. “We have patients here in their 30s or 40s who use a ventilator and I’m not sure they will survive.”

Cancellations

Only two of the 16 ICU beds were empty, and hospital staff were already canceling non-urgent operations to free up capacity, as well as making plans to convert more of its general ICU facilities into covid units.

Dr. Uwe Janssens, director of DIVI, explained what action would be taken if the current spike continued. “The regular hospital schedule must be closed, a partial closure of normal operations and patient admissions, which can be delayed for several weeks without any effort, can be delayed. There are people who don’t need emergency surgery or an emergency catheter or something like that. They can be delayed. And that way, you get the ability and get nurses and doctors to help ICU doctors and nurses in their wards.

After taking into account non-covid patients, 22,066 ICU beds were occupied in the country as of 20 November, while 6,107 remained vacant. Germany has a reserve of around 12,000 ICU beds, including field hospital beds at the Berlin Congress Center.

Despite the large capacity, Health Minister Jens Spahn warned earlier this month that intensive care units could be overwhelmed if daily infection rates continue to rise to current levels. “We are now seeing more and more of a growing burden and threat of being overwhelmed in ICU, hospitals and primary care physicians,” he said in an interview with state broadcaster ARD.

Germany and its aid to other European countries

And this could be bad news for all of Europe. Until now, Germany has received covid patients from neighboring countries whose health systems are overwhelmed.

The German Foreign Ministry confirmed to CNN that during the first wave of the pandemic, between 21 March and 12 April, 232 patients were transferred to Germany for treatment, 44 of them from Italy, 58 from other countries. Low and 130 from France. Also in the autumn, the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Saarland offered spaces to 36 patients, three of them from the Netherlands, 25 from Belgium and eight from France, a foreign ministry spokesperson said.

“These patients need intensive medical care,” said Anja Wengenroth, spokesperson for Muenster University Hospital in Muenster, North Rhine-Westphalia. His hospital set up a system in the spring whereby the Benelux countries – Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg – could apply for ICU beds, a plan that is underway. The Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia confirmed to CNN that “currently 46 hospitals have agreed to accept foreign patients with covid-19. There is currently an offer of 76 beds “.

Support to France

Anne Funk, head of the division for cross-border cooperation in Germany’s smallest federal state, the Saar, which borders France, told CNN that during the first wave of the pandemic, her hospitals welcomed 32 French patients. At the end of October, the Saarland offered France eight beds; three patients have been transferred to date.

“We would like to help where we can,” Funk said. “We don’t want to distinguish between nationalities. At the moment we still have some capabilities. We are coordinating with medical and local authorities in France based on individual needs. We are here to help.

For now they can continue to do so, but with German ICUs taking over quickly, it’s unclear for how long.

Protests against the pandemic

Germany recently witnessed a series of demonstrations against the country’s anti-pandemic measures and many protesters deny the severity of the virus.

The country is in a phase of partial nationwide closure which requires restaurants and bars to remain closed, that people avoid travel, keep their contacts to an absolute minimum, and limit public gatherings to members of two different families. Schools and shops remained open. Federal and state leaders will meet next week to decide on the introduction of new measures.

On Wednesday, thousands of people gathered near parliament in Berlin as lawmakers debated plans to enforce the restrictions. Police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse demonstrators, many of whom wore no masks.

Slap the medical staff

This is seen as a slap in the face by frontline medical staff who work hard to keep people alive, like Schade. “I also hear some people I know say things like: is it like the flu or it can be compared to a normal flu,” the head nurse said. “We can’t understand the people who say it! Of course, we are all afraid that maybe at some point we will not make it anymore and we could have a situation like the one they had in Italy, where the patients were out in the car and were treated with oxygen because there was no more capacity. .

Germany is still far from such scenarios but, although there are still thousands of ICU beds available in the country, Oppert has issued a warning message about the second wave of the pandemic and its dynamics.

“It’s different, it’s more difficult,” he said. “We tend to see more patients now. Not only here in the Berlin / Potsdam region, where we have a large load of ICU patients, but across the country the numbers are increasing and increasing, not decreasing right now.