For several weeks now, Luxembourg has had a high level of hospitalisations. Although the country’s capacity has not been exceeded, health services have seen a notable resurgence of activity after the summer lull. At the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, hospital services have been reorganised to separate Covid patients from those suffering from other pathologies.
RTL 5minutes were able to find out how the U20 unit - the infectious diseases department - is doing its part in the battle against the virus. Access is strictly forbidden to outsiders and, apart from a few exceptional cases, visits by relatives are impossible.
The protocol for entering is very strict: you must leave your clothes outside and put on a nurse’s outfit, a gown, a cap, an FFP2 mask (those with the highest level of protection) as well as goggles. There are many disinfections and the process of leaving is just as constraining, since the virus should not leave the building. Each exit involves carrying out precise gestures and removing all protective clothing. With this clothing, it is better not to feel like going to the toilet too often, the colleagues are told.
For the staff, it has become a habit, explains Catarina Fernandes, head nurse of the infectious diseases department. There are standard hygiene protocols, including their dressing and undressing technique. The daily routine will remain the same for patient care, except that we are in a closed ward with controlled access to contain the virus.
It was in fact her department that welcomed the very first patient who tested positive for coronavirus in February. Nine months later, it is in this same rather busy department that she takes care of the ill. On the morning of Thursday 3 December, the CHL housed 55 patients hospitalised because of the virus, ten of whom were in intensive care.
In mid-November, the U20 service received reinforcements. Elisabeth Lebailly, a former midwife from the CHL who had just retired, joined the health reserve and lent a hand to her former colleagues. She said that it was normal for her to return, and that she did it instinctively. She was very impressed by the colleagues who have been working in masks and protected for so long. Her job is to take part in the logistics of the service to facilitate the work of the doctors and nurses. And in times of crisis, any help is welcomed.
Smiling and motivated during the exchange, she quickly confided that this crisis was not like any others. Even though she has been in the health sector for 40 years, she has never seen anything like the Covid crisis. The other day, the head of the department told her that there was going to be a death ‘in this room here, in that room there...’. “It’s unusual to have so many deaths in such a short period of time,” she said.
But between the spring and autumn crises, the hospitals acquired new skills and knowledge to better manage the epidemic. Frédéric Mennel, the director of the internal medicine unit for systemic diseases, believes the hospitals have learned from the first two waves. The first wave was a phase of securing the hospital, and by the second wave, hospital staff were able to use the time to reorganise themselves and identify their needs. They reviewed the entire organisation of the unit and the hospital’s interfaces.
This organisational improvement during the summer was essential for the care of patients: with the increase in positive cases, carers were expecting to see more patients this autumn. According to Catarina Fernandes, there have been periods with close to 100% occupancy rates. Fortunately, the number of patients is slowly decreasing, but the hospital staff does not want to let their guard down just yet. Sandrine Merou, a nurse’s assistant, confirms that it has been a little quieter over the past week, and hopes it will get better since the holidays are slowly approaching.
