STA, 2 November 2021 - The majority of Slovenian hospitals will suspend all elective procedures as they move to increase the capacity of overflowing Covid-19 wards, it was agreed at a meeting Tuesday featuring hospital directors and the Health Ministry.
The number of beds for Covid patients at intensive care units will rise to 182 by tomorrow, and the number of non-ICU beds will rise from 479 to to 590.
There were 158 Covid patients in ICU wards this morning and 476 in regular Covid wards, meaning that the majority of hospitals are already over-capacity with Covid patients.
Robert Carotta, the national coordinator for Covid hospital wards, told the STA that the number of patients has recently been growing at the fastest pace since the start of the pandemic.
"If these trends continue, healthcare will not be able to cope any more and we're not far from that," Carotta said, noting that Slovenia was on the cusp of the "Bergamo scenario".
The maximum number of ICU beds Slovenia can currently provide for Covid patients is 192, which is slightly less than in the previous wave since there is a severe shortage of nursing staff at hospitals.
Overall, he thinks Slovenian hospitals can accommodate around 1,200 Covid patients in regular and ICU wards.
