Healthcare is disappearing all around the world
Staff shortages are killing patients coast to coast (Honolulu, Fresno, East San Jose, NM, VT), & in Canada, UK, Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Dubai, China, S. Korea. Singapore, Thailand & all over Africa
Research by Jen Young for News from Underground
Strain on Healthcare: Unpacking the Crisis in Emergency Rooms
February 13, 2024
Hospitals across the globe are reporting their worst emergency figures in over two years, marking a significant strain on the healthcare system. The surge in emergency cases has put tremendous pressure on hospital capacity and resources, raising concerns about the ability to provide timely and effective care to patients. This increase in emergency cases can be attributed to a variety of factors, notably, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, seasonal illnesses, and other health-related issues. The situation necessitates urgent attention and proactive measures to address the growing demand for emergency healthcare services.
https://medriva.com/covid-19/strain-on-healthcare-unpacking-the-crisis-in-emergency-rooms/
250,000 visits to Medicare Urgent Care Clinics take pressure off hospitals
April 4, 2024
The Australian Government’s network of 58 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics have made it easier for hundreds of thousands of Australians to get urgent care from a doctor or nurse, without waiting for hours in busy hospital emergency departments.
Dubai Ambulance responds to over 235,000 emergencies in 2023
April 4, 2024
The Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services played a critical role in responding to emergencies involving 235,394 individuals in 2023, and achieved a record average response time of 7.5 minutes, a 13 percent improvement from 2022. The organisation also made crucial contributions to saving the lives of 90 individuals who had cardiac arrests in the past year.
https://www.gulftoday.ae/news/2024/04/04/dubai-ambulance-responds-to-over-235000-emergencies-in-2023
Why patients are waiting so long in emergency rooms across Canada
February 14, 2024
As Canada’s emergency rooms grapple with persistent staffing and bed shortages, hospital admission wait times are getting longer. This past December in Ontario, patients waited in ERs for an average of nearly 22 hours before getting admitted to the hospital—almost three times longer than the provincial target time of eight hours. According to Michael Howlett, president of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, or CAEP, decades of underfunding fuelled systemic problems, which are now hitting a breaking point. Ontario wait times will likely only get worse, he says, particularly during respiratory virus seasons.
https://macleans.ca/society/health/canada-er-wait-times/
Hospital declares rare 'black alert' as patients told to avoid A&E and go home
April 4, 2024
A UK hospital has issued a rare black alert due to "exceptional demand" on its wards. Morriston Hospital in Swansea issued the warning - declaring a 'Business Continuity Incident' and said it is seeing high numbers of patients, including many with 'DIY-related injuries'. People are being urged to seek medical aid elsewhere, if possible, and collect loved ones who have been discharged as soon as possible, so that beds can be freed-up for those in need.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1884941/hospital-black-alert-accident-and-emergency
‘Asking for the public’s help’: ER capacity stretched at Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno
March 12, 2024
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Fresno’s Community Regional Medical Center issued a warning on Tuesday asking those who need medical attention not to arrive at the hospital’s emergency room unless it is necessary. As part of the warning, Community Regional Medical Center announced that it is experiencing extremely high numbers of patients – stretching the capacity of its emergency department. In a further statement to YourCentralValley.com, Dr. Jeff Thomas with Community Regional Medical Center said that there is not one cause behind the high patient volumes. “We are seeing patients at Community Regional Medical Center who have more severe symptoms and require more complex care, resulting in higher patient volumes and limiting our ability to discharge patients in our normal timeframes.”
CT residents report days wait, adverse outcome, staff burnout due to emergency room overcrowding
February 27, 2024
Patients are waiting days for treatment in emergency rooms across the state in an overcrowding crisis that health care professionals say is only growing worse. But the issue is there is no data to prove it. On Monday, Connecticut lawmakers heard testimony on a bill that would require hospitals to report emergency department data, including bed capacity, patient counts and wait times. The proposal is part of an effort to address a statewide crisis that contributes to staff burnout, delayed diagnoses and adverse health outcomes for patients, according to clinicians. One woman said she spent 52 hours in the hallway of Yale New Haven Hospital’s emergency department before doctors diagnosed her with meningitis in her brain and spine and Bell’s palsy.
East San Jose trauma center closure could break county hospital system
March 30, 2024
The closure of East San Jose’s only trauma center puts the entire Santa Clara County public hospital system in jeopardy and threatens the survival of east side residents suffering a heart attack, stroke or other catastrophic medical event. That was the unequivocal warning from county doctors at an emergency hearing on Wednesday. The hearing before the county Emergency Medical Services Agency comes more than a month after Regional Medical Center — owned by the company HCA Healthcare — announced plans to close its trauma, stroke and heart attack services by Aug. 12, citing financial strain.
Emergency Room Closure In Wahiawa Magnifies A Capacity Crunch
March 25, 2024
As emergency rooms filled with patients, Honolulu's head of emergency services was tasked with coordinating ambulance arrivals. Consistent with a recent trend nationwide, Honolulu’s emergency rooms are struggling with patient capacity.
https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/03/emergency-room-closure-in-wahiawa-magnifies-a-capacity-crunch/
Rural cities press for more state funding for emergency medical services
April 3, 2024
Sen. Grant Hauschild, DFL-Hermantown, represents an area that’s familiar with the issue and faces some unique challenges in supporting EMS delivery. Hauschild is authoring a bill in the Senate that proposes $120 million for EMS support. The seven ambulance services in Otter Tail County, for example, experienced an estimated $1.5 million loss last year, according to a letter to Hauschild from the chair of the Board of Commissioners. The county urged Hauchild to advocate for $120 million, and also for a second year of funds for 2025. Rep. Dave Lislegard, DFL-Aurora, one of the authors of the House version of the bill, said it’s only a “bandaid to stop the bleeding.”
ER Waits For Hospital Beds Are Deadly. Many Hospitals Aren’t Fixing The Problem
March 13, 2024
The problem of boarding—waiting in the emergency room after being admitted to the hospital—is a deadly, escalating crisis. Unfortunately, real solutions are still a long way off.
If you or a loved one has been hospitalized through an ER recently, you might have spent eight to 12 hours before going to your inpatient bed. While your initial diagnosis and treatment was correctly made by ER doctors and nurses, you could probably tell hours later that they weren’t focused on you anymore because they were handling the new, sicker patients. Ill, injured, or both, it was probably miserable lying for hours on an ER gurney in a hallway. Boarding is nothing new. This’ll surprise you. For years, hospitals have known boarding increases risks of dying in the hospital. Yet many hospitals aren’t taking steps to fix the problem. Some states have enacted laws to stop the practice. There’s even a new quality boarding metric in development. But it could be years before any real change occurs.
Chinese Hospitals Overloaded in Echoes of COVID as Pneumonia Rampages
November 27, 2023
China is grappling with an alarming surge in respiratory illness, particularly among children, in many parts of the country, according to reports in local media, state news outlets and most recently the World Health Organization. The ailments, which the global health agency believes is due in part to an upsurge of mycoplasma pneumonia, is not reported to have caused death or widespread severe illness at this time. However, the outbreak is nonetheless placing immense pressure on China's healthcare system due to existing limitations. A concerning capacity shortfall in China's hospitals, among other vulnerabilities, was first raised at the height of the country's fight against widespread COVID-19 infections this year, after Beijing dropped all anti-virus controls in December—virtually overnight. The Tianjin Children's Hospital, located in a major port city near Beijing, reported on November 18 a single-day record of 13,171 young patients across its outpatient and emergency departments, according to a local newspaper. Long queues, both inside and outside hospitals, illustrated the the overwhelming demand for medical attention. Videos reportedly showing winding lines at Tianjin Children's Hospital as well as Shenyang Children's Hospital, in northeastern Liaoning province, circulated on social media, reflecting the severity of the situation.
https://www.newsweek.com/children-respiratory-flood-chinese-hospitals-1846551
Emergency rooms at major hospitals in South Korea feel heat as medical professors cut working hours
January 4, 2024
SEOUL: Some emergency departments at major hospitals turned away patients or reduced procedures Monday as medical professors began cutting their working hours to cope with growing fatigue caused by a protracted walkout by junior doctors. The professors, who are senior doctors at major hospitals, had said cutting back their working hours is inevitable because they must focus on treating seriously ill and emergency patients while scaling back surgeries and services for outpatients, Yonhap News Agency reported on Monday.
According to the state-run National Emergency Medical Centre, the emergency department at Asan Medical Centre, one of five major general hospitals in Seoul, notified that it is unable to treat stroke patients. Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, another major hospital in Seoul, announced that its emergency room is unable to accommodate non-critical patients.
About 12,000 trainee doctors have been on strike in the form of mass resignations since Feb. 20, with medical professors having submitted resignations in support of the walkout.
Thailand’s Government Explores Emergency Health Insurance Options for Tourists
No date
Recent incidents involving foreign tourists and their lack of access to emergency medical treatment have raised concerns about the safety and well-being of visitors. In response to these incidents, Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Ministry and the National Institute for Emergency Medicine are exploring the possibility of expanding the Universal Health Insurance Coverage for Emergency Patients (UCEP) initiative to include foreign tourists.
Opinion: How can the world solve its shortage of health workers?
December 7, 2023
Though it doesn’t get much press, there’s a looming crisis: The world does not have enough health care workers, and demand for them is growing faster than supply. The World Health Organization (WHO) projects a gap of 10 million health workers by 2030. Although no country is exempt from this growing problem, 89% of the shortage is concentrated in low- and middle-income countries. Many countries still struggle to meet the international minimum target set by WHO of 44.5 health workers for every 10,000 people.
This problem is compounded by health workers leaving their home countries to pursue opportunities elsewhere.
How Will Germany Respond to the Global Nursing Shortage?
November 20, 2023
BERLIN — The shortage of nurses around the world is extremely challenging in many ways for healthcare systems. Nurses at the World Health Summit this year discussed how to address this issue as quickly as possible. Carla Eysel, chief human resources and nursing officer at the Charité University Hospital in Berlin, and Helene Maucher, manager of corporate strategy for nursing at German private hospital group Sana Kliniken, illustrated the difficult situation in the field of nursing in Germany while offering potential solutions. The country faces a shortage of more than 35,000 nurses required to maintain the current standard in medical care. Fewer people are starting with basic nursing training, and only 70% of them graduate. Germany is far from achieving the proposed academization of the nursing profession. According to figures from the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), the rate of prospective nurses with a university-based education was less than 2% in 2021. Moreover, academic qualifications are more common in management roles rather than in clinical positions.
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/998677?form=fpf
Lombardy is looking for nurses in South America
April 2, 2024
Guido Bertolaso, councilor for Welfare of Lombardy, is heading to Argentina and Paraguay to finalize an agreement with local health authorities to bring between 400 and 500 South American nurses to hospitals and healthcare companies in Lombardy by the end of the year. In an interview with Repubblica Milan, Bertolaso stated that this agreement presents a good opportunity to address the severe shortage of nurses in Lombardy.
https://www.breakinglatest.news/health/lombardy-is-looking-for-nurses-in-south-america/
Sofia in need of 1,500 nurses as Bulgaria faces severe medical staff shortages
December 20, 2023
Bulgaria's healthcare system is grappling with a severe shortage of medical professionals, a report from the Bulgarian Council for Economic Analyses has highlighted, causing concern over the country’s healthcare system, as waiting lists grow and hospitals close.
Franco Locatelli: “There is a lack of nurses and doctors in demanding specialties, emergency rooms are at risk”
April 4, 2024
Scientists and Nobel Prize winners are joining forces to save the National Health Service (NHS) in a letter appealing for more resources and support. The call to action, led by Franco Locatelli, president of the Superior Council of Health, emphasizes the importance of public health and the need for adequate funding to ensure its sustainability. Locatelli highlights the urgent need for more doctors and nurses to meet the increasing complexity of modern medicine. He points out the shortage of nursing staff and the critical situation in emergency rooms and other specialties such as pathological anatomy and microbiology. The lack of attractiveness in certain medical specialties, like emergency-urgency and others, is a concern as it affects the recruitment of young doctors.
Two in three African health workers have witnessed patients die due to staff shortages
October 16, 2023
Close to 60% of Africa’s frontline doctors and nurses have admitted to seeing patients die in wards and hospital waiting bays against a global average of 33%, finds a newly-released report by global trade union federation Public Services International (PSI). The survey analyzed experiences of more than 2,200 unionized medical staff from 12 African countries—including Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, Malawi, and Zimbabwe—and found that staff shortages was the leading reason patients die under preventable circumstances.
https://qz.com/africa-health-workers-shortage-deaths-patients-psi-1850925769
Singapore hospitals struggle to meet demand for radiographers, pharmacists amid shortage in healthcare workers
October 20, 2023
SINGAPORE: Some critical healthcare roles in Singapore, such as radiographers and pharmacists, are in short supply, according to a few private hospitals. Industry players said the shortage is driven by multiple factors including an ageing population, new technology and the expansion of healthcare infrastructure.
AMA president sounds alarm on national physician shortage
October 25, 2023
WASHINGTON – In a national address today, American Medical Association President Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, M.D., MPH, spotlighted the growing national physician shortage and corresponding health system in crisis. In remarks delivered at the National Press Club, Dr. Ehrenfeld outlined critical strains on physicians, including enormous administrative burdens, burnout, attacks on science, increased consolidation across health care, a broken Medicare payment system, and health crises that worsen each day.
America faces a shortage of primary care doctors–and they’re drowning in work. Here’s how AI can solve the physician burnout crisis
February 14, 2024
The Association of American Medical Colleges projects we’ll be short as many as 124,000 physicians by 2034, more than a third of them primary care providers. According to a recent survey from Athenahealth, 80% of physicians already report talent shortages within their practices. Doctors keep shouldering ever-larger workloads, creating a vicious cycle that spurs them to leave the profession in droves. In turn, patients are increasingly unable to form the close relationships with providers that we know are valuable for their health.
Warning signs for the U.S. health system are piling up
October 26, 2023
Staffing shortages, more dangerous workplaces, aging physicians and the increasing politicization of medicine: The warning signs for America's burned-out health care workforce are all there. "The physician shortage that we have long feared — and warned was on the horizon — is here. It's an urgent crisis, hitting every corner of this country," American Medical Association president Jesse Ehrenfeld said Wednesday at a National Press Club event. "Imagine walking into an emergency room in your moment of crisis, in desperate need of a physician's care, and finding no one there to take care of you," he added. "That's what we're up against."
https://www.axios.com/2023/10/26/health-care-doctor-shortages-warning
NMiF looks at 2023 Elections, New Mexico’s healthcare workforce shortage
November 9, 2023
New Mexico is grappling with a shortage of medical professionals, especially nurses. Recent reporting from New Mexico In Depth’s Marjorie Childress highlights the problem, which at one point this summer left the state short 7,000 nurses. Senior Producer Lou DiVizio hosts a table discussion to ask how legislators and hospitals can help address the problem.
http://news.unm.edu/news/nmif-looks-at-2023-elections-new-mexicos-healthcare-workforce-shortage
Vt. hospitals curb nursing shortage by uptraining other employees
October 24, 2023
ST. ALBANS, Vt. (WCAX) - As staff shortages at Vermont’s hospitals persist, one potential solution being used at hospitals across New England involves training current hospital employees to become nurses. Kelly Campbell, the director of professional development at Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans, says the daily census of patients has gone from 18 to 34 in recent years. They’ve added beds, but she says the hospital is having a hard time keeping up. “Patients wait longer to access care than they used to. So, when they do they’re sicker or their condition is more acute, there’s a lot of things that play into that,” Campbell said.
Military’s shortage of mental health workers causing long waits for care
February 8, 2024
The military’s shortage of mental health workers and an increase in demand for care has forced troops to seek help off base and sometimes wait a month for appointments, according to a new government report. The Government Accountability Office found 43% of authorized behavioral health care jobs in the military’s Defense Health Agency were vacant as of January 2023, said Alyssa Hundrup, author of the report titled “Defense Health Care: DOD Should Monitor Urgent Referrals to Civilian Behavioral Health Providers to Ensure Timely Care,” which was released Tuesday.
https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2024-02-08/military-mental-health-shortages-long-waits-suicide-12944619.html
Mark, you have listed a substantial number of healthcare facilities that are unable to handle the load of incoming patients,, and the question always being raised is "Why?" The wrong answer that is always offered is that there is a shortage of funding. No, it is not funding. It is the lack of accountability and the cooperation of hospitals with governments, whose mission today is to maximize profits while aligning themselves with the program of the WEF, Bill Gates and all those who are deliberately and determinately striving to destroy Nations in order to merge them into the World Order. It is clear to those of us who see with our eyes, hear with our ears, but also engage our brains to process all the information that we are absorbing.
NOW is the time to educate yourself about holistic healing! STAY AWAY FROM THE MEDICAL CARTEL!
And yes, I can say this! I had cancer three years ago. THAT is why I made my choice to stay away, unless absolutely necessary.
I find most doctors abhorrent. They know nothing to help most people. I can’t believe we trusted most of them for so long (not all!).