Dutch
hospitals are in the process of building special rooms with special beds and
toilet facilities to cope with obese patients.
Rotterdam’s Erasmus teaching hospital is currently building rooms capable of taking patients of up to 230 kilos (507 pounds), which will be completed in 2018. And the Catharina hospital in Eindhoven has had several so-called XL rooms in its cancer and surgical departments for years.
"The number of obese people is rising steadily," Erasmus obesity
professor Liesbeth van Rossum told the paper. "t is an illusion to think
this is a problem which can be dealt with quickly. So society has to ensure there
is proper care."
Some 43% of the Dutch population are overweight and 12% have serious weight
issues. Twenty-five years ago, just 27% of the population was considered too
heavy. Trolleys ‘Most hospitals are not well prepared to deal with obese
patients,’ Jos Blik of the Dutch obesity association said.
"It starts at the accident and emergency departments, where there are no
trolleys capable of taking people weighing more than 200 kilos. A normal
hospital bed can take up to 170 kilos and most rooms have suspended
toilets."
The shortage of specialist equipment only intensifies the stigma attached to
obesity, Van Rossum said. "Try sitting on a chair that is too small... it
is enormously embarrassing. What is stopping us giving these patients a bed or
a chair which fits?"
Rotterdam’s Erasmus teaching hospital is currently building rooms capable of taking patients of up to 230 kilos (507 pounds), which will be completed in 2018. And the Catharina hospital in Eindhoven has had several so-called XL rooms in its cancer and surgical departments for years.
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