STA, 18 August 2021 - UKC Ljubljana, the country's largest hospital system, is getting ready to handle an anticipated surge in Covid-19 cases even as it performs all other health services to the maximum extent. The hospital is "ready for the challenge," said Matjaž Trontelj, the head of the hospital's governing board.
"This is a major challenge but one that needs to be handled. We have to find a balance due to the need to cut waiting times," he said after a session of the governing board.
The hospital currently has more than 250 beds ready for Covid-19 patients, according to Tatjana Lejko Zupanc, the head of the infectious diseases department.
At the peak of the second wave of the epidemic, it handled 350 Covid-19 patients at the same time (at Covid and regular wards) plus 70 in intensive care units.
There are almost 200 ICU beds available in total, almost twice as many as the hospital had before the pandemic.
"We are probably ready [for the fourth wave], though perhaps not to the extent that we want since we really don't know what awaits us," she said.
Last year the hospital turned parts of the gynaecology department and orthopaedic department into Covid wards, but this is not planned this year. The desire is to perform as many non-Covid services as possible.
"If the scope of the epidemic is really too large, it may happen that some services be curtailed, but they won't be completely shut down," said deputy director general Jože Golobič.
