Under-used Swiss hospitals hint at hidden toll of coronavirus
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
MONDAY, MAY 16, 2022
MONDAY, MAY 16, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
Under-used Swiss hospitals hint at hidden toll of coronavirus

Coronavirus chronicle

Reuters
09 April, 2020, 03:30 pm
Last modified: 09 April, 2020, 03:34 pm

Related News

  • Neutral Switzerland leans closer to Nato in response to Russia
  • Neutral Switzerland leans closer to NATO in response to Russia
  • Russian authorities seize rare Swiss watches in sanctions Reprisal
  • Swiss investment in Bangladesh to reach $1.3b
  • EU Parliament's top group suggests blacklisting Switzerland after Credit Suisse leaks

Under-used Swiss hospitals hint at hidden toll of coronavirus

“The risk is that a lot of patients will suffer or die at home when they should go to the emergency room”

Reuters
09 April, 2020, 03:30 pm
Last modified: 09 April, 2020, 03:34 pm
FILE PHOTO: Staff treat a patient in the intensive care unit at the University Hospital (CHUV) during the coronavirus outbreak in Lausanne, Switzerland, April 3, 2020. Pool/Laurent Gillieron via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Staff treat a patient in the intensive care unit at the University Hospital (CHUV) during the coronavirus outbreak in Lausanne, Switzerland, April 3, 2020. Pool/Laurent Gillieron via REUTERS/File Photo

Swiss emergency rooms and hospitals are quieter than usual despite an influx of COVID-19 patients, a worrying sign that some doctors say could mean more people are dying at home from other ailments.

Concerned about the trend amid the pandemic, staff at the Cardiocentro hospital in the southern canton of Ticino bordering on hard-hit Italy called its regular patients to check up on them.

One of them had been quietly suffering from a heart vessel problem at home for days and, once he was coaxed to come in, was operated on urgently. Another died before coming into hospital.

"Many patients tell us I waited because I am afraid of coming into contact with a COVID patient," Giovanni Pedrazzini, president of the Swiss cardiology society and co-head of cardiology at the Ticino centre which also accepts COVID-19 patients, told Reuters.

"The risk is that a lot of patients will suffer or die at home when they should go to the emergency room."

The World Health Organization has warned of above-normal deaths unrelated to the coronavirus pandemic as health systems become overwhelmed and issued guidelines to avoid them.

But wealthy Switzerland's hospitals are holding up well despite its more than 22,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, and most have spare capacity. The Swiss trends hint at the indirect and potentially fatal impact of the pandemic.

Olivier Muller, cardiologist at the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), told broadcaster RTS he had seen the number of patients with clogged arteries drop by 35%. "It is a great source of worry for us," he said. "We have early indicators of an excess mortality not linked to COVID-19."

Patients with stroke symptoms have fallen by a fifth, Switzerland's stroke society said.

The concern about hospitals is understandable as people with heart problems are at risk of complications if they catch COVID-19, a highly contagious respiratory disease.

Unlike China which separated COVID-19 care from general hospitals, that has not always been practical in Europe, although Swiss medical workers defend the mixed approach.

The drop of 10-30% in emergency room activity at the CHUV can be partly explained by fewer sporting, driving and drinking accidents, said Professor Pierre-Nicolas Carron, emergency room head. Routine surgeries have also been postponed.

"We've been seeing non-COVID patients come to the hospital very late in the course of their disease," said Thierry Fumeaux, head of the intensive care unit in Nyon and president of the Swiss Intensive Care Medicine Society.

"This is probably one of the adverse impacts of the (coronavirus) containment measures."

Public health officials who urged people not to unnecessarily tax medical resources during the crisis have sought to reassure the public that a visit to the doctor or emergency room, especially for children, should not be put off.

"This is really important: For fear of the coronavirus, people should not avoid calling or using the emergency room," said Daniel Koch, the health ministry's coronavirus czar.

Switzerland has reported 705 deaths from COVID-19 and a total of 22,789 infections. Data on overall causes of death since the coronavirus pandemic began is not yet available.

Switzerland

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • CPD for monthly Tk1,000 allowance for unemployed youths 
    CPD for monthly Tk1,000 allowance for unemployed youths 
  • Photo: PID
    Make best use of funds in effective implementation of SDGs: PM Hasina
  • Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi. Photo: Collected
    Govt plans to import wheat from 5 countries: Tipu Munshi

MOST VIEWED

  • A medical worker in a protective suit collects a swab from a resident at a makeshift nucleic acid testing site inside a residential compound under lockdown, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China April 14, 2022. REUTERS/Xihao Jiang
    Shanghai aims for return to normal life from 1 June
  • South Korea's new President Yoon Suk-yeol signs a document as he works at the new Presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, May 10, 2022. Yonhap via REUTERS/File Photo
    S Korea says it will spare no effort to help North Korea amid Covid outbreak
  • North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wears a face mask amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, while inspecting a pharmacy in Pyongyang, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 15, 2022. KCNA via REUTERS
    Kim Jong Un orders North Korea military to 'stabilise' drug supply amid Covid outbreak
  • North Korea reports 15 more suspected Covid-19 deaths
    North Korea reports 15 more suspected Covid-19 deaths
  • Residents line up for nucleic acid tests during lockdown, amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, in Shanghai, China, May 9, 2022. REUTERS/Aly Song
    Locked-down Shanghai to start gradually reopening malls, other businesses
  • New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo: Collected
    New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tests positive for Covid

Related News

  • Neutral Switzerland leans closer to Nato in response to Russia
  • Neutral Switzerland leans closer to NATO in response to Russia
  • Russian authorities seize rare Swiss watches in sanctions Reprisal
  • Swiss investment in Bangladesh to reach $1.3b
  • EU Parliament's top group suggests blacklisting Switzerland after Credit Suisse leaks

Features

Bitcoin, by far the largest cryptocurrency, is a terrible substitute for government-issued money. Photo: Reuters

Crypto’s wild week offers a much-needed warning

45m | Panorama
Karst Stone Paper Journal: Write on indestructible stone paper

Karst Stone Paper Journal: Write on indestructible stone paper

1h | Brands
Pesky bugs do not stand a chance against this automatic indoor insect trap

Pesky bugs do not stand a chance against this automatic indoor insect trap

1h | Brands
Wazeenah: Turning furniture into a canvas

Wazeenah: Turning furniture into a canvas

2h | Brands

More Videos from TBS

How can you become proficient as a new team leader?

4h | Videos
Future of newborn baby genome sequencing: Good or Bad?

Future of newborn baby genome sequencing: Good or Bad?

4h | Videos
What Europe-based Fair Wear says about fair price of Bangladeshi cloth

What Europe-based Fair Wear says about fair price of Bangladeshi cloth

17h | Videos
Microplastics found in 5 local sugar brands

Microplastics found in 5 local sugar brands

18h | Videos

Most Read

1
The hostile welcome to Bangladesh
Bangladesh

The hostile welcome to Bangladesh

2
Representative Photo: Pixabay.
Bangladesh

Microplastics found in 5 local sugar brands

3
Mushfiq Mobarak. Photo: Noor-A-Alam
Panorama

Meet the Yale professor who anchors his research in Bangladesh and scales up interventions globally

4
Union Capital asked to return Tk100cr FDR to BATBC 
Banking

Union Capital asked to return Tk100cr FDR to BATBC 

5
Bangladesh gas fields burnt $3m worth of gas in the air in 2021
Energy

Bangladesh gas fields burnt $3m worth of gas in the air in 2021

6
Impact of falling taka against US dollar
Banking

Taka losing more value as global currency market volatility persists

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab