European hospitals on the go

By: Frédérique Lebel

Hospitals, their capacity to respond to emergencies, to absorb the shock of the crisis. It is the nerve of war. High pressure establishments. But not everyone in Europe leaves with the same chances or the same handicap.

Publicity

Head to the United Kingdom and its famous NHS, the National Health Service, the object of true national fervor and pride. Prime Minister Boris Johnson probably owes him his life after going into intensive care because of Covid-19. And he spared no thanks.
But the NHS has suffered 10 years of austerity and budget cuts. The United Kingdom is one of the European countries with the least intensive care, two beds per 1,000 inhabitants, three times less than in Germany. So we had to adapt quickly. Report in England signed Marie Billon .

And in Hungary , the coronavirus officially killed 213 people. Few victims therefore, but the government of Viktor Orban expects the worst. He therefore asked hospitals to release 60 percent of their beds. With the dramatic consequences one can imagine for other patients. A strategy that raises a lot of opposition and questions among the nursing staff. However, the Prime Minister heard neither criticism nor complaints about the dilapidated hospitals. This is the report in Budapest by Florence Labruyère .

Lack of beds, lack of doctors, lack of medicines and masks for the nursing staff too. In Belgium, which has one of the highest mortality rates due to Covid-19, several scandals have hit the headlines for this epidemic. Detailed review with Laxmi Lota in Brussels.

Shortage: it has been a long time since this word has been repeated in Europe. And this concerns drugs. So much so that we are now talking about the health sovereignty of the continent. How to reduce our over-dependence on China and India. A debate which has, of course, found a particular echo in Switzerland , home of the global pharmaceutical gloves. The explanations of Jérémie Lanche .

Germany is one of the countries least affected by the coronavirus. 4,500 dead for a country of more than 80 million inhabitants. The large number of tests and beds in intensive care have a lot to do with it. This is probably also why we can take the time to educate the general public.
And it is the great virologist Christian Drosten, who does it. Passed in a few months from the status of specialist to that of media darling. His podcast has more than 15 million listeners. Her portrait, by Léa-Lisa Westerhoff.

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• Coronavirus
• Health and Medicine
• UK
• Hungary
• Belgium
• Swiss
• Germany

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