This Tuesday, December 16, the emergency personnel of the University Hospital of Toledo – assistants, doctors, nurses and guards – are called to gather at the doors of the department to report the situation of unbearable collapse that they experience daily and which is becoming more and more … more difficult. With the motto “Enough is enough, saturation in emergencies”, health professionals They demand immediate solutions to the overload of the health system. The central slogan of the protest is: “For our health, for the dignity of work. Come with us, your health is important to us.”
The collapse intensified after the weekend. This Monday, early in the morning, the emergency services noted 84 patients awaiting admission and 38 under observation, which shows the pressure to which professionals are subjected. “The situation is becoming more and more untenable and we have decided to protest for the first time,” the workers commented.
Borderline emergencies
A rescuer told ABC that this situation is not new, but that each year the pressure increases. “The situation we are experiencing is the same as every year, but each time it is a little greater, to the point of becoming unbearable. Today we are overwhelmed like never before. According to their account, they discovered an alarming number of patients at the start of the day: “There were 84 patients awaiting admission and 38 under observation.”
Emergency personnel report a “unsustainable situation of collapse of health care”. Professionals explain that this recurring collapse seriously affects both patient safety and the physical and mental health of workers. The main cause of the collapse is the constant accumulation of patients waiting for admission without an available bed, which causes structural saturation of emergency rooms.
Many patients have to wait for hours, even days, in corridors or in treatment chairs while waiting to be placed in a suitable cubicle. This generates inadequate care conditions and obvious clinical risks. Emergency personnel report that, despite recurring alerts, no adequate measures were taken.
Sources from the staff of the Emergency Department of the University Hospital of Toledo indicated to ABC that the immediate and preventive opening of all the reserve units of the hospital complex (Provincial Hospital and National Hospital for Paraplegics) is essential to anticipate the collapse and not react when it is already unsustainable, they also require the creation of specific spaces to accelerate hospital discharges and allow greater bed rotation and a more agile increase in emergency admissions, as well as the implementation of plans. real emergency plans, drawn up and activated without delay, especially during weekends and periods of high care pressure, also require the immediate adaptation of care spaces, ensuring that no more patients are treated than the available resources safely allow, the hiring of sufficient staff reinforcements in all teams, as there is currently scarce reinforcement staff who sometimes cover leave, disabilities or contingencies of emergency staff.
Staff work in extreme conditions, with long shifts and constant care overload. “Despite extreme exhaustion, we continue to be asked to cover additional shifts to support an overwhelmed system,” they add in their press release.
Emergency workers also denounce the abandonment of both hospital management and union representatives, whose responses are considered insufficient given the seriousness of the problem.
Stressed emergencies
Meanwhile, influenza continues to progress in the region, with a significant increase in respiratory infections. According to the Minister of Health, Jesús Fernández Sanz, the incidence of respiratory infections in Castile-La Mancha has reached 1,002 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, a figure higher than in other communities such as Catalonia, Madrid and Valencia.
The greatest impact is recorded among children under 4 years old, a particularly vulnerable group. Despite this increase, Fernandez Sanz He stressed that the vaccination campaign is progressing positively, with 58% of the population vaccinated, and that it should reach 70% by March. This increase in vaccination, particularly among children under 4 years old, is essential to reduce the spread of the virus and reduce pressure on hospitals.
Regarding hospitalizations, the data shows 12% more emergencies, 20% more occupied beds and 38.5% more admissions for respiratory infections compared to last year. This increase particularly affected patients over 80, who experienced a 30% increase in hospitalizations. Despite the increase in cases, the advisor highlighted that around 80% of emergencies are resolved within the first 4 hours, which reflects the response capacity of the regional health system.
However, the number of positive flu cases continues to rise and the region is expected to reach the peak of infections before other autonomous communities, putting even more pressure on emergency services.
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