As the Dutch government belatedly tightens coronavirus restrictions, you may be wondering how well hospitals are set up to handle corona patients. Well here’s a little story...

A relative of mine is in somewhat vulnerable health so has stayed away from busy places for months and been very careful. But this week they had an appointment at @GHZGouda in Gouda

(For the unfamiliar, this is one of South Holland’s major hospitals; a gleaming facility which looks more like a Google HQ. I’ve been treated there dozens of times myself and have said before that it’s excellent, which it usually is)

Anyway, my relative arrived and as usual reported to the receptionist, and were told to go up in a certain elevator near the main entrance.

An elevator arrived, and they stepped aside to let out the two people already inside, then entered it themself.

Only a few moments later did they realized who’d just stepped out, after using the same elevator and passing within a meter of them:

A medical professional in full protective gear, and a coughing corona patient on a trolley

A few minutes later, the same thing happened again: “ordinary” patients waiting for an elevator, and then sharing it with corona patients

My relative - being at risk, and having barely been to a supermarket in months - was understandably terrified

And the best bit? This wasn’t, apparently, some one-off error. When my relative asked hospital staff- both on-site and later by phone- they were told that there’s no separate entrance for corona patients and the entrance hall and main elevator for them are...

...shared with other departments including THE HOSPITAL’S MATERNITY UNIT. Seriously ill corona patients and pregnant women, and other patients, pass close by each other constantly.

Aghast, my relative asked two hospital staff why, at the very least, one of the three elevators in that bank couldn’t be kept separate for corona patients.

“Wow that’s a good idea!” was the response. “We could use some stickers on the door! Why don’t you suggest it via the patient suggestion box?”

I try not to get too worked up about these things, but seriously:

this is one of the richest countries in the world. Eight months into a deadly pandemic. HOW THE ACTUAL F*** did we end up in a situation where “keep corona patients separate from other patients” is something a major hospital learns from A F*****G SUGGESTION BOX?