Impact of strike 30 operations a day cancelled at Bonn University Hospital

Bonn · 19 of 36 operating rooms at Bonn University Hospital are closed. Ten hospital wards are on strike and many surgical procedures are being cancelled each day. According to the board, the situation is becoming more stressful for patients and hospital staff with every day that passes.

 Health care workers at the Bonn University Hospital remain on strike, with an increasing impact on hospital operations.

Health care workers at the Bonn University Hospital remain on strike, with an increasing impact on hospital operations.

Foto: Benjamin Westhoff

The strike by nursing and healthcare staff on the Venusberg is having an ever greater impact on operations at Bonn University Hospital (UKB). In response to an inquiry, the UKB Board of Management stated: "For patients and hospital staff, the situation is becoming more stressful with each additional day of the strike. Patients requiring urgent care will continue to be cared for under the emergency service agreement, drawing all resources to be mobilized." At present, he said, the strike is "significantly worsening the situation of the majority of health care workers who reject the strike initiative because of the extra work involved (for those not striking).”

On Wednesday, he said, four wards were fully on strike. Six other wards were partially on strike. That means the full number of beds normally available has been reduced. It includes two intensive care units with a total of nine beds which are not available. The UKB has a total of just over 60 wards. In total, 182 beds have not been available since the strike began on May 4.

19 of 36 operating rooms closed

The UKB also says that 19 of a total of 36 operating rooms cannot be used at present due to the loss of staff as a result of the health care worker strike. After negotiations with the strike management of Verdi about the emergency service agreements, however, two operating rooms were put back into operation on Wednesday for emergency use. For that, some staff gave up the right to strike. The primary goal of the board was to "avoid endangering patients". An average of 30 operations per day are being cancelled at the UKB because of the strike.

UKB spokeswoman Viola Röser said, "The situation overall is very strained due to the strike by Verdi at all six university hospital sites in NRW with increasing limitations also on surrounding hospital capacities and urgent surgeries that have already been postponed." On Tuesday, the university hospitals in Cologne and Essen had also told the news agency dpa that the impact of the strike was increasing.

Open job positions cannot be filled

"At the moment, the six university hospitals are trying to gain authorization to negotiate with Verdi themselves, while currently the “Tarifgemeinschaft” (collective bargaining association) of the states is responsible for collective bargaining," Röser continued. He added that the university hospitals are prepared to reduce pressure felt by the health care workers and have been actively recruiting staff for years, both at home and abroad. There are vacancies at all university hospital sites in North Rhine-Westphalia that cannot be filled because of the shortage of skilled workers, he said.

The current strike, which Verdi wants to extend from week to week until an agreement is reached is not about salary increases. The focus is on better staffing in the wards - for example with a minimum number of personnel required. Until now, the collective bargaining association of the federal states has been responsible for such contract negotiations. The North Rhine-Westphalian state government recently announced its intention to create the legal basis so that negotiations can take place directly with the university hospitals.

So far, the hospitals can only make emergency service agreements with the unions, but cannot conduct collective bargaining. "Intensive work is now being done at the state level to ensure that negotiations can be held on the relief measures demanded by the strikers," the UKB board said. According to Verdi, there are initial talks being held under the leadership of the University Hospital of Cologne.

Original text: Philipp Königs

Translation: ck

Meistgelesen
Neueste Artikel
Zum Thema
Aus dem Ressort