The health care crisis has entered a new phase, the National Coordination Center for Patient Distribution (LCPS) said in a weekly hospital report. This relates to the so-called 2D stage, the last level before “crisis stage” 3.

This means that hospitals in the Netherlands in the short term will have to cancel much of their planned care, or have already done so, to make more space for Covid-19 patients in hospital beds.

The National Network for Acute Care (LNAZ) has asked outgoing Minister De Jong to formally certify the new phase, a NOS spokesperson said. For now, the new phase isn’t official yet, but the LCPS report is a strong indication that it’s coming.

Inguinal fracture corrections and hip replacement

Planned care, which falls into so-called categories 4 and 5, is greatly reduced at this point. This relates to care where no permanent harm to health or loss of life is expected if delayed by six weeks or more (Category 5) and care where there is “some risk” in the event of delay in permanent damage to health or loss of life (Category 4).

Concretely, for example, hip replacements and inguinal hernia correction will almost never be performed in the new stage. Surgical procedures in which patients do not have to stay in a hospital bed can still be continued.

Limburg hospitals go further and in many cases also cancel planned serious care (category 3), NRC . Reports. This includes heart surgery, brain surgery, and cancer surgery.

defense support

One element of this phase will also be “Request for Maximum Defensive Support”. The Department of Defense says it cannot yet say anything about potential support, but it is “of course prepared to do so”. According to a spokesperson, discussions are underway with the Ministry of Health, among others, but no concrete request has been made so far.

The day before yesterday, LCPS’s Ernst Kuipers warned that if the increase in the number of hospitalizations continues at the current pace, hospital occupancy will be at the same level within a week as during the peak of last winter’s peak. “And if you don’t turn around, it will be the highest peak,” he said.