I would have a surgery in Hirslanden Zürich, but it cannot be done because the whole icu is full of Covid patent. My problem is potentially dangerous so I would need a solution quickly. Does somebody know until when do they want to block everything due the Covid?

Sorry to hear that.

They don't want to block everything, but nobody can say when the number of cases will reduce.

I am sorry to hear.
I dont think anybody on this forum will be able to give you an answer.
What does your doctor say?

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.

As I understand it, the hospitals are currently having to decide from one week to the next, or even one day to the next, how to proceed. At any point, they know only more or less what's likely to take place over the next few days.

In any case they are taking measures to separate the patients with Covid from all other patients. The message is to avoid going to hospital just for the sake of any small matter that could be dealt with by a G.P. (family doctor), and rather to phone and check whether or not you should go to the hospital. At the same time, if you need treatment, do not hesitate to contact them. They are still carrying out many forms of treatment.

Here is the page from the Hirslanden Hospital, with the phone number of the department that schedules operations.
https://www.hirslanden.ch/de/klinik-...taltungen.html

To get a different perspective, here is the City Hospital called "Waid und Triemli" (it's a fusion of 2 hospitals run by the City of Zurich), saying that they are still carrying out procedures, and to phone for help or enquiries.
https://www.stadt-zuerich.ch/triemli...dumdieuhr.html

This. Ask for his/her opinion on

• how urgent it is that you have the operation, and
• how likely it is that you would need to be in an ICU afterwards.

I hope you and your doctor can work out the right way forward.

He asked me to go back ín december. I would have a minimalinvasive brain surgery which needs one day stay ín icu. It would be urgent, currently I am absolute ok, but my problem needs a quick solution. I have a cavernoma which can start to bleed anytime, but currently it is absolute symptom free.

Oh, that must be scary. I hope that you, your doctor, and one of the hospitals can work out the right solution.

Although it’s scary, they wouldn’t ask you to wait unless the risk of a bleed is quite low. The COVID numbers are already plateauing out and December is only 2 weeks away.
Other Kantons are less affected than ZH and the LUKS (Luzern) has some decent neurosurgeons but I doubt you would get non-emergency surgery there any faster either, although you can always try and phone.
Maybe just regularly phone and check in with the secretaries at the clinic where you had your appointments so they definitely have you on their radar and are aware of the stress the waiting is causing you. Even an email expressing your concerns can just make them more aware of it and prioritize your case as much as possible.
Thank you for making this post as well, maybe it will help a few people see one of the many real negative effects of this pandemic and stop some of the christmas market, ski-holiday, big gettogether, face-mask whingeing. The hope dies last.

I understand how stressful it can be. If last couple of weeks are a sign, we are on a good path though.

They want to half no of new cases each two weeks. But that to translate into less new patients is maybe a 2-4 weeks of delay and even more of a delay for worst cases. These patients also spend some time in hospital.

I would personally look at the beginning of new year as a good spot. Optimistically end of December, beginning of January. End of January maybe more realistic.

I hope people don't spread the disease further around Christmas and New Year. That would then translate into extra patients in February. I seriously hope people do act responsibly both around the holidays and otherwise.

As you can see my estimates are somewhat ad hoc but I believe you should be able to get a slot before end of January. I know it is difficult to do but try to not stress out too much. And as others mentioned your doctor should be aware of better done estimates (may not be willing to share though but I don't think they are giving false hope either).

Ok, this f...king berry in my brain has 2% chance to bleed in a month. So I think, I can avoid that. But if not, and lets say I got a permanent neurological damage, can I prosecute somebody?

You know the thing is that nobody knows, why and how often these things bleed. The estimations are between 5-30%/year. Ok, in monthly bases it is not so serious, but more than 0.
The guy who would do the surgery here in CH is one of the bests not only in CH but in Europe as well. I want him to do it, because the location is very risky.

I doubt it. It sounds like they want you to delay so that you can have an ICU bed and hopefully less risk of being near Covid patients when you do.

However, it seems like you're very concerned (who wouldn't be?!) so please talk to your doctor and see if you can set a date soon, even if it means going to a different Hirslanden clinic that might have more space. Mental health impacts physical health too.

For what - refusing to put you in a hospital full of people who could give you a serious disease, and who may have more chance of serious problems than you do?

Mortality rate of COVID patients in ICU is ca. 12%.

Second this.

Do talk to the doctor who referred you to this surgeon/Hirslanden. He or she is he best person to advocate for you, to help you get priority on the schedule once the clinic is deemed safe for you, or to help you get into another clinic with capacity elsewhere in Switzerland. Is there other non-hospital monitoring your doctor can provide to help you at the moment?

I know this is so very frustrating, and certainly empathise. Many have had urgent but not immediately life threatening treatment postponed, many hospitals are in a triage situation at the moment. But please don't blame the hospital or doctors; they can only take patients up to their safe capacity and resource limits.

(If anyone is to blame, it is the selfish Covidiots out there whose refusal to follow the safety measure needed to contain this virus got us into this mess.)

I hope your referring doctor can be an advocate for you, and that you are able to have the procedure done as soon as it is safe. In the meantime, I wish you all the very best.

My referring doctor is an eye-specialist I had some blurry vision, so I visited him. He requested an MRI, and a blood spot was seen on it. Then he sent me to the Hirslanden, because they have a very experienced neurosurgery team.

Ask him for help. Even if he is in another specialty, he can still act as your advocate. Chances are he has relationships with the clinic doctors, and thus can put your case more effectively.

I hope a solution is found, and wish you well.

You really should speak to your doctor. Inform your referring doctor about the delay and weigh options.


Option 1: wait until Hirslanden recommends.

Option 2: push for an emergency and hope that you don't suffer either from catching covid, or from having staff who are really pushed to make life-critical decisions under high pressure.

Option 3: go elsewhere.


We can't really make any decision for you. Whilst it's stressful right now, on balance I would be more worried about a) catching covid or b) having a mistake in ICU because the staff are super-stressed.

This is a minimalinvasive operation, i should spend only 1 day in ICU, usually nothing happens after this surgery. Thats all.

Where do you want them to go? Short of a flight to Asia or Finland, there really aren't any options. We're in the midst of a wave. Once the numbers drop, the ICUs would need to be cleared.

You can't ignore an infectious disease in the ICU.

@Carapace, how are you? Have you seen a doctor and could they help you?