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HEALTH

Coronavirus: Switzerland’s intensive care units ‘close to capacity or above’

Despite almost three weeks of shutdown measures, the situation in Switzerland's intensive care units remains critical.

Published: 17 November 2020 17:18 CET
Coronavirus: Switzerland’s intensive care units ‘close to capacity or above’
A health worker is monitoring a patient at intensive care unit for patients infected with Covid-19 at the hospital of La-Chaux-de-Fonds on November 5, 2020. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

In a press conference on Tuesday, Swiss heath officials warned the public to “reduce your contacts even further” as the country’s free intensive care beds continued to dwindle. 

Despite almost three weeks passing since Switzerland put in place a more extensive set of coronavirus measures, hospitalisations and fatalities remain high. 

READ: Switzerland's new coronavirus measures explained

The situation in intensive care beds is particularly dire, with several cantons “close to capacity or above”. 

Not only does this increase the risks for potential coronavirus patients, people with other serious conditions also face higher risks. 

‘We have to take the pressure off the healthcare system’

Virginie Masserey, the Head of Infection Control Section at the Federal Office of Public Health FOPH, said the number of new infections was still too high. 

In several cantons, intensive care bed capacities were already exceeded, with hospitals struggling to add extra beds. 

“We cannot count on the hospitals to constantly increase their acute beds forever,” Mastery said. 

“We absolutely have to maintain the measures. It remains the only way to take the pressure off the healthcare system. 

While infection numbers have slowed somewhat, they remain high. 

READ: What are the coronavirus measures in every Swiss canton? 

“We assume that the slowdown is due to the measures. But what is decisive is the behaviour of the population,” said Masserey. 

“Reduce your contacts even further.”

Where is the situation critical?

Andreas Stettbacher from the Federal Council Delegate for the Coordinated Medical Service (KSD) said there were 240 free intensive care beds across the country – just 21 percent of the total allocation. 

However, in individual cantons, “intensive care units are close to the capacity limit or above”. 

The situation is particularly dire in Aargau, Fribourg and Solothurn, where capacity has already exceeded 90 percent – while in Glarus ICU patients have already exceeded the canton’s capacity. 

The following chart shows how full each canton’s intensive care units are on a percentage basis. Data for Obwalden and Appenzell Innerrhoden has not been provided.  

 

 

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HEALTH INSURANCE

Could glasses and contact lenses soon be covered by Swiss health insurance?

The Swiss health system is ranked among the best in the world, but some essentials, like glasses, aren't automatically covered by health insurance. That could soon change, however

Published: 16 May 2024 15:06 CEST
Could glasses and contact lenses soon be covered by Swiss health insurance?

Green Party Federal Councillor Katharina Prelicz-Huber revealed in an interview with newspaper 20 Minuten this week that the Federal Parliament had tabled a motion to include prescription glasses and contact lenses in Switzerland’s mandatory health insurance scheme. 

Prelicz-Huber stated: “The purpose of compulsory health insurance is to provide the services you need to get or stay healthy,”

The motion forms part of the legislation that will be voted on during the 2024 summer session of the Federal Council. 

Proposed changes 

According to Switzerland’s peak optician body, 4 in 5 Swiss wear glasses or contact lenses at some point. 

It’s no surprise that statistics repository, Statista, projects the Swiss eyewear industry to be worth €1.37 billion by 2028. 

Currently, glasses and contact lenses are covered for up to 180 francs for children until age eighteen, if they are proscribed by a doctor.

Adults can also claim money back for glasses and contact lenses – however, they must be suffering from one of a short list of specific conditions such as keratoconus – where the cornea is distorted – or severe myopia, otherwise known as near-sightedness.

They must also have been specifically prescribed them by a doctor or optometrist. 

Otherwise, supplemental optical insurance must be purchased in Switzerland to ensure you can recoup the cost. 

Under the Green Party proposal, glasses, contact lenses, and other visual aids would be covered, regardless of age. 

Rising premiums prompt opposition 

Not everybody agrees with the proposal. 

The right-wing SVP has already spoken out against it, with Federal Councillor Diana Gutjahr arguing: “If we seriously want to slow down the burdensome and constantly rising health costs for the benefit of the population, we [must] show the political will not to constantly expand the benefits of compulsory health insurance.”

A spokesman for the the health insurance advocacy group Santesuisse, Matthias Müller, echoed Gutjahr, claiming that insurance constitutes “financing for extraordinary events such as illness.”

“If almost everyone benefits from a certain service, it is no longer an insurance benefit.”

A date for the vote has yet to be announced. 

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