A survey of hospitals shows that it is indeed very crowded there. There is not only the flu, but there are other respiratory infections as well, such as corona and RSV. The various viruses that circulate not only make patients ill, but also healthcare personnel. In the structurally understaffed UZ Leuven, non-emergency care already has to be postponed. Currently only 70 percent of the beds can be used.
“December was particularly busy in the children’s ward, due to a spike in the number of RSV infections, but a lot of elderly people with respiratory infections have also arrived since the Christmas holidays and there is a lot of flu. We are expecting a strong flu season This, in combination with the personnel failure, creates enormous pressure,” says Gert Van Assche, chief physician at UZ Leuven.
