Luxembourg's emergency services are overwhelmed

The Chief Medical Officer of the Adult Emergency Department at CHL, Dr Marc Simon, is recording a worrying trend: the number of referrals to emergency services continues to rise. In 2024, 45,257 patients were admitted to the department, the highest number ever. This year-on-year increase of 2-2.5 per cent is due to both population growth and an increase in the number of patients from overseas.

Emergency care is increasingly provided to people who could go to a family doctor but simply do not have a general practitioner. According to the Ministry of Health, one in three Luxembourg residents is not attached to a specific general practitioner.

According to Dr Simon, it is not only local people who come to the emergency department, but also more and more people from other regions and border countries. Many come because there is no access to family doctors in their countries. This leads to additional overloading of hospitals and longer waiting times.

On average, a patient spends 4 hours and 20 minutes in the emergency department. The first nursing assessment takes 11 minutes, and the first contact with a doctor occurs after an average of 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Among the most frequent reasons for complaints are abdominal, back and chest pains. The Ministry of Health emphasises that at least 10% of cases could be solved at the level of ordinary medical consultations. However, people go to hospitals because they can immediately undergo additional examinations.

The authorities are launching a campaign to attract patients to GPs, and hospital services are actively supporting this initiative. According to Dr Simon, it is necessary not only to develop the primary care system, but also to make GPs more visible and accessible. In the meantime, hospitals continue to operate in overload mode, not only catering for emergencies, but also for patients who could receive care elsewhere.