Česky
Walking down the same corridors today, you wouldn't know you were in a hospital at first sight - not even by smell. Patients have a wide range of diagnostic, therapeutic and rehabilitative options available to them, which is why the vast majority of people admitted to an aftercare unit return to their families or social care. But like other inpatient facilities, the Beroun Rehabilitation Hospital is now also being overwhelmed by covid-19.
Normally, the Beroun Rehabilitation Hospital is the largest early rehabilitation care facility in the Czech Republic, specialising in a wide range of diagnoses. But now, even here, they are reaching their limits in the fight against the covid-19 infection and rehabilitation care is partially limited.
"At the moment we are concentrating on post-covid rehabilitation. Besides, we have also been designated as a large-scale vaccination centre. We are facing similar problems as all other medical facilities - we are putting together the staff to provide the care as it should be and to everyone, regardless of whether they have covid or not," says Natasha Petsini, director of the Beroun Rehabilitation Hospital, adding that the hospital has 31 beds allocated for covid patients.
Severely and critically ill patients are taken over by the sister hospital in Hořovice, or other cooperating specialised centres. "It is a strain on all of us, but most of all on the medical staff. I guess I'm not the only one who doesn't see an end in the current situation - something to grasp onto in order to take a breath," says Natasha Petsini. This is underscored by the fact that when the covid ends, the rehabilitation hospital will be trying to catch up with the scheduled procedures, which is where the focus of care here normally lies.
Her words are confirmed by the medical staff, who have to deal with new challenges. "The work has completely changed and there is much more of it. Due to the situation, there are few of us and some of them have several hours of overtime," says Barbora Hauserová, the station nurse of the aftercare department. "Since January, things have been going badly within the covid, the illness is getting worse and worse, the patients are younger. In addition, we work in protective suits, so one has to think more about everything," the station nurse from the internal medicine department described the situation in March, adding that there are a lot of daily admissions and the patients are still turning up. Now, fortunately, the situation is easing, so the hospital was able to lift the mass casualty situation as of March 19 and is now slowly starting to return to more normal operations.
Physiotherapy in a protective suit
The work of physiotherapists has also changed fundamentally. They used to care for patients on beds, for example, after hip and knee operations, arthroscopies, polytrauma or vertebropathic and neurological patients, including those after strokes. However, many things had to be restricted during the covid, so only those who urgently needed inpatient care were admitted. Even physiotherapists do not avoid working in protective suits with covid patients, and these are often later admitted to follow-up care when they are no longer infectious.
"The times do not favour rehabilitation as such; it cannot be done as we used to do it. But rehabilitation for patients with or after covid is very important because they need to move and get fit to be self-sufficient and get back to life. We are able to get them back on their feet, if their condition allows it. Rehabilitation after a cavid is simply very important and we try to use all the methods that can be used to do this," says physiotherapist from the Rehabilitation Centre MUDr. Jana Calty.
Rehabilitation of post-covid patients is also carried out on an outpatient basis, but priority is given to people on beds. The Beroun physiotherapists also have the advantage that thanks to their cooperation with Motol and IKEM they have also been responsible for patients after lung transplantation and cardiac surgery in the past, which has better prepared them for working with covid patients.
In addition, they also run a testing site in Beroun with the possibility of performing an antigen test or PCR confirmation test. The vaccination centre is now able to vaccinate 340 patients per day with sufficient vaccine supplies. Temporary staff and doctors from the surrounding area, along with tribal staff, assist with testing and vaccination.
Unfortunately, however, the Beroun hospital confirms the experience of other health facilities complaining about the burdensome administration associated with vaccinations. "This is something that was known to be coming and could be prepared for. However, it is such a complex system that it has overwhelmed even our IT department," points out hospital spokesperson Petra Horáková.
The construction of the kindergarten and the mental rehabilitation centre is in full swing
Under standard circumstances, the hospital's operations look different. The Rehabilitation Centre provides the bulk of the care provided by six hundred employees. The hospital operates a one-day arthroscopy clinic, where twenty to thirty procedures a day are normally performed, and patients commute from all over the country. A standard internal ward with an intensive care unit then forms the backdrop for both the rehabilitation centre and overnight care. The hospital also has an aftercare service that focuses on aftercare.
Historically, however, things were different. The hospital was opened in 1929, then renovated in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1980, a long-term care hospital was opened, but by the time the hospital was privatised in 2007 and bought out by the current owner, Sotirios Zavalianis, it was absolutely not up to 21st century standards. So Zavalianis immediately had Ward D or LDN 2 closed and the patients moved to more suitable premises. Thanks to hundreds of millions of dollars of investment, the hospital was gradually renovated and revitalised, so that today it provides not only quality care, but also a comfortable environment. The once haunted Ward D is now part of the Rehabilitation Centre with marble floors and equipment that far exceeds the standard of Czech hospitals.
Despite the fact that the covid crippled the entire republic, the development and construction of new capacities has not slowed down in the Beroun hospital. This year, two new wards for overnight care should be opened. This will be accompanied by the expansion of necessary facilities such as central sterilisation and bed capacity.
However, the largest project by far, with an investment of around one billion euros, is the construction of the Mental Rehabilitation Centre, which will focus on outpatient and acute inpatient care for around 150 patients. It will provide care in a state-of-the-art environment on an area of 25,000 square metres, and will include a theatre, cinema and swimming pool, while a vineyard is to be built on the adjacent hillside to provide a friendly environment. Currently, the centre, adjacent to the rehabilitation hospital, has its skeleton and roof completed and should be ready in three years.
But the most important project for the employees is the nursery, which will replicate the nursery already standing in the hospital in Horovice. Two classrooms of about 24 children each should open there. "This is a benefit that is very welcome among the employees - the problem of finding a kindergarten in the area is great, and thanks to this possibility, medical staff are returning from parental leave earlier. The advantage of having our own nursery is that it is timed to fit in with staff working hours, so parents don't have to worry about not being able to pick up their child on time. We accept children from one year old to pre-school age. We also do suburban camps at both hospitals in the summer, so we also help with childcare for school-age children. The kindergarten in the Beroun hospital area has now started construction and should be open in September this year," says Petra Horáková.
The Beroun Rehabilitation Hospital is part of the Akeso holding, which also includes the Hořovice Hospital and Multiscan Pardubice. Last year, the Beroun hospital performed more than 183,000 outpatient examinations, hospitalized almost 10,000 patients and, despite the covid, performed 3,700 arthroscopic operations (it normally performs around 4,000 a year).
Michaela Koubová
Source.
