He doesn't like to say the word "crisis".

Because there is always something resonating with "crisis" that feels like "being at the mercy".

And it is precisely this feeling that Jürgen Graf, medical director of the University Hospital in Frankfurt, does not want to let arise.

He prefers to talk about the tasks and challenges that need to be overcome in the healthcare system.

There are still some of these in everyday clinical practice - despite the fact that the topic of corona has lost some of its importance in public perception.

Marie Lisa Kehler

Deputy head of the regional section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

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Although the number of corona intensive care patients in supply area four, which includes the Frankfurt University Hospital, has fallen significantly in the past two weeks, the number of normally cared for Covid patients is still significantly high.

In addition, many employees of the university hospital are also affected by quarantine and isolation rules.

“We have more than twice as many sick notes as usual at this time.

This is largely due to corona infections and secretions,” says Graf.

Many Ukrainians need medical help

While the situation in the intensive care units is easing again, a new challenge awaits the hospital staff elsewhere.

Because many of the people who fled from Ukraine to Germany need medical help.

Like many other hospitals, the university hospital has adapted to the treatment of the sick and injured from the war zone.

In an interview in early March, Graf said: "We expect war traumatological injuries.

So direct and indirect gunshot wounds from weapons, grenades and shrapnel.”

Immediately after the beginning of the war, a care structure was created to ensure that people who are flown out of the war zone with serious injuries receive quick help in the clinics that are prepared for such injuries.

Various care regions were defined in order to coordinate the distribution of the injured to the different clinics.

Structures were used in Hesse that have already proven to be helpful in the care of corona patients.

Fewer injuries than expected

So far, however, the number of seriously injured people who have been flown directly from Ukraine to Germany has been manageable, says Graf.

He knows of about two dozen cases across Germany.

In Hesse, according to his information, only two patients were treated in the supply area.

Even if there are fewer injuries than expected, everyday life in the hospital is influenced by what is happening in the Ukraine.

Because many refugees urgently need medical help.

"You get the level of care that is usual with us," says Graf.

Among the patients are, for example, those who are in the middle of cancer therapy.

Or others who are significantly restricted because of their age and who are dependent on medication.

"These are all clinical pictures that we know well."

Not everyone who needs help has documents with them that can provide information about the medical history.

If they are available, the findings often have to be translated first.

The language barrier is another challenge Graf talks about.

At the university hospital, employees who speak Ukrainian or Russian were specifically addressed and involved in the processes.

According to the medical director, despite the tense personnel situation and the ongoing stress caused by the corona pandemic, there is still a “great willingness to help in the system”.