Worsened Condition of Coronavirus Outbreak in Hospitals Across Saxony Understated in Reports
In recent days, concerns have been raised about the accuracy of the reported availability of intensive care beds in several hospitals across Saxony. The German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive and Emergency Medicine (DIVI), which operates the official intensive care bed register, has noticed irregularities in the numbers of available, immediately available beds for the care of intensive care patients.
One of the hospitals under scrutiny is the Hospital of Görlitz. The hospital attributes the discrepancy between its internal bed lists and the DIVI intensive care register to sick or quarantined staff, preventing free beds from being occupied. The hospital's bed list for the hospital control center is reportedly "more practice-relevant and pragmatic" than the DIVI register.
The Oberlausitz Clinic Bautzen is another hospital facing allegations of inaccurate reporting. The clinic denies these allegations, stating that the current situation in German hospitals is more complex than the DIVI database presents. It is important to note that the Oberlausitz Clinic Bautzen does not receive equalization payments or "holdback allowances."
Last week, the total number of free intensive care beds in five Saxon districts (Bautzen, Dresden, Saxon Switzerland-Osterzgebirge, Görlitz, and Meissen) was around 20, according to internal bed lists. However, the official DIVI intensive care register showed more than twice that number, with 50 free intensive care beds.
Feedback from rescue services and regional spot checks have also indicated inaccuracies in the numbers of available, immediately available beds for the care of intensive care patients, as reported by DIVI and DKG. An appeal by DIVI and the German Hospital Society (DKG) from early November acknowledges that the numbers of available intensive care beds cannot be 100% accurate, which is crucial for a clear interpretation of the data and the resulting planning throughout the country.
Despite these concerns, there are no specific publicly available reports or official data identifying which hospitals in Saxony’s current COVID-19 hotspots have had fewer than 20 free intensive care beds for COVID-19 patients since last weekend, nor indicating a significantly higher shortage than officially reported as of the latest search results.
The shortage of intensive care beds for COVID-19 patients in Saxony's hotspots, as reported by ARD magazine "Fakt", is significantly greater than officially reported. This underscores the importance of accurate and timely reporting of hospital bed availability to ensure effective planning and resource allocation during the ongoing pandemic.
