Herentals/Turnhout/Yellow/Mol –
Kempen hospitals have seen a sharp increase in the number of patients with respiratory diseases, such as influenza or corona, in recent weeks. The pressure in the General Hospital (AZ) Herentals and AZ Turnhout is so great that they ask visitors to wear a face mask.
Tuesday, February 6, 2024 at 9:54 AM
The winter months are traditionally a busy season in hospitals. Many people with respiratory infections due to influenza (flu), RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and, in recent years, corona end up in hospital due to their severity or complications.
The four hospitals of the Kempen Hospital Network (ZNK) confirm that there has been a large or even enormous increase in citizens with such conditions in recent weeks. In Herentals and Turnhout it is so large that all visitors are kindly asked to wear a face mask again. The two other Kempen hospitals are not (yet) following suit.
Shift recordings
“The call applies to all visitors visiting an admitted family member or friend, not only to visitors of patients with the diseases mentioned. But to be clear, this is a recommendation, not an obligation,” says spokeswoman Annelies Vrints of AZ Herentals.
The same approach also applies to the two campuses of AZ Turnhout. “The main reason is that we want to protect other patients and not spread the viruses further. Sometimes visitors are carriers of viruses without realizing it. We also do not want to make our employees sick. They are also advised to wear a face mask again when they have to care for directly admitted patients.” (Read more below the photo)
Herentals took the first step in the face mask request, AZ Turnhout followed during the day on Monday. — © AZ Herentals
There is an additional organizational reason: patients with influenza, among other things, place additional pressure on practical operations. “We must isolate such contagious patients. This often happens in a single room. If they are in a double room, the patient in the other bed may be removed from there and placed in another room. Unless the other patient is infected himself. That causes a complete shift in recordings. Which is very difficult in these busy times,” says Annelies Vrints.
“The pressure on nursing is also increasing, because our employees must always take the necessary precautions before entering a room with an infected patient. That takes extra time. Mouth masks, aprons, it’s a bit like the corona period,” says Vrints.
Each has its own measures
The hospitals within ZNK held consultations on Monday morning about whether a joint approach is desirable. Ultimately, it was agreed that each hospital will take its own measures based on the number of admitted influenza patients. Herentals took the first step, AZ Turnhout followed during the day on Monday. Although the other two also confirm the increased admission pressure, they do not yet see a need for (general) face mask wearing. Geel Hospital and Heilig-Hartziekenhuis Mol are therefore (for the time being) not adjusting their rules about wearing face masks.
“When abolishing the face mask requirement in hospitals, we have always asked visitors to stay at home if they are sick. We ask visitors, supervisors and patients to wear a face mask in the hospital if they have mild cold complaints, such as a runny nose, a little sore throat or coughing and sneezing. We would like to repeat that call,” says spokeswoman Ann Van Hulle of Geel Hospital.
