Such is the strain on the emergency room at Landspítali National University Hospital that no more patients can be admitted, RÚV reports. A chief physician reports that under such circumstances, there is an increased risk of serious incidents occurring.
Patients are prioritized, based on the seriousness of their condition, and some have had to wait a few days in the ER for admission to the hospital.
This morning, there were 24 individuals in the ER waiting for hospital admission. Those who had waited the longest had been there for three days.
Jón Magnús Kristjánsson, a chief physician of the ER, remarked, “The danger is that patients not only feel worse, but simply receive much inferior service, and there is an increased risk of serious incidents for patients who are stuck in the ER.”
It is unusual for this time of year to be this busy, since the flu season hasn’t begun. There are dozens of patients stuck at the hospital, who have completed treatment, but are unable to get into a nursing home. The lack of nurses has also begun to have an effect.
Hospital management advises residents to contact health clinics in the capital area, as well as the emergency watch (læknavaktin).
