Disaster report from an Austrian hospital: “Corpses parked in the corridor due to overcrowding”

The fourth corona wave also has Austria fully under control. A report from a hospital in Upper Austria reveals the terrible conditions.

Munich / Linz – Horror in the hospital: What an Austrian nurse reports about the current conditions at her workplace is hardly understandable for outsiders. The situation is catastrophic.

In a report by the Austrian press agency APA OE24.de tells a female nurse about terrible conditions on Monday night (November 15, 2021). There were so many deaths in her Upper Austrian hospital that “corpses had to be parked in the aisle due to overcrowding”. She speaks of enormous psychological stress: “Nobody outside can imagine what that means.”

Far too few staff in Austrian hospital: “We totally swim”

There is a state of emergency in the hospital. Some stations are closed, certain workforces are thinned out – everything so that there is enough staff for the corona cases of the fourth wave. She says: “It burns and you don’t use a fire extinguisher, but gasoline.”

Even before the pandemic, her department had run to the minimum staffing level, now, with Covid-19, “we’re totally swimming”. You can also experience triages up close. An older woman with only 50 percent oxygen saturation was admitted – usually an intensive case. But there was no free space. It was only through “luck”, as the nurse reports, and because the lady was tough that she survived.

A worthy farewell to corona deaths is canceled

A dignified farewell to the relatives of the dead is currently not available. “You put corona dead people naked in an airtight plastic bag, zip up and that’s it.” She would otherwise prepare the deceased for the bereaved.

The overload consumes the nurse. She “currently has no private life,” she says. The cell phone kept ringing with the question of whether one could step in – “You don’t think about rejection.” She praises her colleagues, the internal solidarity is great. “Everyone has 150 hours of overtime at the moment.” Some would still consider dismissal. The nurse says: “I don’t want a bonus that has not yet been paid out. I want my predictable life back. ” (cg)

The corona pandemic is forcing the neighboring country to act. Austria is now tightening its entry rules – with the help of a new 2.5G rule.