Pandemics and Health Crisis in ICU of Two Greek Public Hospitals

The purpose of this study was to collect and analyze information on the operating conditions of intensive care units of Greek Public Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. The need to improve the Greek healthcare sector was widely recognized prior to and was clearly demonstrated during the pandemic when the Greek medical and nursing staff dealt with numerous problems on a daily basis. Two questionnaires were developed for data collection. One addressed issues faced by the ICUs Head Nurses and the other by the hospitals' Biomedical Engineers. The questionnaires aimed at identifying needs and weaknesses in workflow, ergonomics, care delivery protocols, system maintenance and repair. The findings from the ICUs of two reference COVID-19 Greek hospitals are reported here. Significant differences were observed in the biomedical engineering services but both hospitals encountered similar ergonomic issues. Data collection from other Greek hospitals is in progress. Final results will be used as a guide to develop novel, time and cost-efficient strategies in ICU care delivery.