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. 2020 Dec 3;20(1):313.
doi: 10.1186/s12893-020-00970-x.

The COVID-19 pandemic: impact on surgical departments of non-university hospitals

Christian Stöß  1 , Marcella Steffani  1 , Kay Kohlhaw  2 , Claudia Rudroff  3 , Ludger Staib  4 , Daniel Hartmann  1 , Helmut Friess  5 , Michael W Müller  1   6
Affiliations

The COVID-19 pandemic: impact on surgical departments of non-university hospitals

Christian Stöß et al. BMC Surg. .

Abstract

Background: During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, German health care centres were restructured for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. This was accompanied by the suspension of the surgical programme. The aim of the survey was to determine the effects of COVID-19 on surgical care in non-university hospitals in Germany.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was based on an anonymous online survey, which was accessible from April 24th to May 10th, 2020 for surgeons of the Konvent der leitenden Krankenhauschirurgen (Convention of leading Hospital Surgeons) in Germany. The analysis comprised of 22.8% (n = 148/649) completed surveys.

Results: Communication and cooperation with authorities, hospital administration and other departments were largely considered sufficient. In the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, 28.4% (n = 42/148) of the respondents complained about a short supply of protective equipment available for the hospital staff. 7.4% (n = 11/148) of the participants stated that emergency operations had to be postponed or rescheduled. A decreased quantity of emergency surgical procedures and a decreased number of surgical emergency patients treated in the emergency room was reported in 43.9% (n = 65/148) and 63.5% (n = 94/148), respectively. Consultation and treatment of oncological patients in the outpatient clinic was decreased in 54.1% (n = 80/148) of the surveyed hospitals. To increase the capacity for COVID-19 patients, a reduction of bed and operating room occupancy of 50.8 ± 19.3% and 54.2 ± 19.1% were reported, respectively. Therefore, 90.5% (n = 134/148) of all participants expected a loss of revenue of 28.2 ± 12.9% in 2020.

Conclusion: The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on surgical care in Germany. The reduction in the bed and the operating room capacity may have lead to considerable delays in urgent and semi-elective surgical interventions. In addition to the risk of worsening patient care, we anticipate severe financial damage to the clinics in 2020 and beyond. National and supranational planning is urgently needed to ensure the surgical care of patients during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; Financial loss; Non-university hospitals; Surgery; Surgical care.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Results of questionnaire sections 1–4: a Politics, 5 questions b Health authorities, 4 questions c Hospital administration, 8 questions d Cooperation with other specialist departments, 5 questions
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Results of questionnaire section 8: Outlook for the period after the COVID-19 pandemic, 8 questions
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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