Emergency rooms in ski regions sound alarm

Hospitals hope that warmer temperatures will keep some people from taking to the slopes and reduce hospital visits over the holidays. © Keystone/gian Ehrenzeller

A mix of Covid, flu and ski injuries is straining emergency rooms in hospitals in many Swiss ski resort towns.

While hospitals in towns and cities throughout much of Switzerland are facing severe staffing shortages, clinics in mountain resorts face the additional challenge of sporting accidents during the winter months. The ski season officially begins on December 26 but on Friday, many clinics and hospitals said that bed capacity was already exhausted according to a reportExternal link in the Tages-Anzeiger.

The hospital in Sion in the southern canton of Valais, which is home to well-known ski resorts such as Zermatt, reported that more than 90% of beds were occupied on Friday. Clinics in canton Bern including Interlaken and Frutigen have similar occupancy rates.

“The numbers correspond to reality: they are worrying,” said Valais hospital director Eric Bonvin.

The Tages-Anzeiger noted that some cantons including Graubünden in the eastern part of the country appear to be in a better position. Nevertheless, the combination of Covid and flu patients and children with respiratory diseases along with sports accidents is putting more pressure on limited staff than in the past.

Precautions are being taken such as adding beds in hallways. Warmer temperatures over the next few days are also expected to reduce the number of people heading to the ski pistes and therefore an influx of patients with ski injuries.