After a hot summer and family time, we are now in a «wait and see» approach amid warnings of a second wave of COVID-19. What did we learn so far?First, the clusters were not national but regional and the solution is no longer a complete Member State lockdown but instead the implementation of mobility limitation between regions.
The second lesson is that, if a second crisis occurs, the EU could be a solution by providing hospitalization capacity for saturated local healthcare systems.
This prospect was considered during our discussion with top-level managers of big hospital groups who embraced this possibility, observing that, at the height of the pandemic, some hospitals were empty while others were overwhelmed. The right repartition of bed occupation according to a European mapping (and not national) could be the key.
We must remain careful while no vaccine is yet available and personal protection is our only safety solution. But do not forget the power of EU27 as a real safety zone for all European citizens with the full implication of the private hospital sector that UEHP represents. And Thursday 17 September the Patient Safety Day is an important event reflecting our every day work, UEHP supports this international event led by WHO.
Dr Paul Garassus
President of UEHP
