Munich (dpa / lby) - According to a survey by the radio station Antenne Bayern, the situation in several Bavarian children's hospitals has eased somewhat. Prof. Matthias Keller, chief physician at the Children's Hospital Third Orden Passau, told the broadcaster on Tuesday: "The situation has stabilized significantly. While some children were still very ill during the Christmas holidays, this number is now declining." Normal operation prevails at the moment.
Prof. Johannes Hübner from the Hauner Children's Hospital at Munich University Hospital said that the outpatient clinic was full every winter and that children had to be transferred to other clinics. "This situation had worsened in November and early December and was really critical in parts. So the situation has eased, although we continue to see many children with respiratory infections (RSV, influenza, Covid)." The further development is open, the winter season has only just begun.
At the Würzburg University Hospital, a spokesman assumed that the wave of respiratory diseases would abate somewhat. "Even during the holiday season, there were fewer contacts, since schools and daycare centers were closed. However, the burden remains high, since there are still staff shortages and the interventions that were initially postponed have to be made up for."
The chief physician of the clinic for pediatric and adolescent medicine at the Donau-Isar-Klinikum Deggendorf, Michael Mandl, said: “The number of patients who have to be isolated has been fluctuating for weeks, but the tense situation among the staff, nursing and medical, remains highly problematic and restricts the number of beds that can be operated. Transfers from other clinics also took place over the holidays."
A spokesman for the Munich Clinic said: "Overall, a plateau seems to have been reached for respiratory diseases with a slight downward trend. Since the main infection time for influenza in Germany usually extends from January to Carnival, a flu vaccination still makes sense at this point in time, to get through the rest of the winter well."
