Luxembourg Plans 24/7 Medical Service to Ease Pressure on Emergency Rooms

The Luxembourg government is preparing to launch a new round-the-clock medical service designed to ease overcrowding in the country’s emergency departments. A draft Grand-Ducal regulation was approved during Friday’s Council of Government meeting, paving the way for a parallel system to operate alongside hospital emergency rooms in Luxembourg City.

According to a statement from the Ministry of State, the initiative “aims to make better use of available medical resources” while maintaining high standards of care. The proposed service would offer medical coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week—structured as daytime shifts (7 a.m. to 5 p.m.), alternating night shifts (5 p.m. to 7 a.m.) on weekdays, and full-day rotations on weekends and public holidays.

This new model seeks to direct patients with non-critical conditions away from hospital emergency rooms, ensuring that serious cases receive faster attention. Emergency departments in Luxembourg City have been facing increasing strain, with both the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL) and the Robert Schuman Hospitals (HRS) together recording nearly 370,000 visits in 2024.

At CHL, the average total patient transit time reached 4 hours and 20 minutes, while at HRS, the average waiting period between first contact and treatment was 165 minutes at Kirchberg and 57 minutes at ZithaKlinik. These figures highlight the urgent need to improve patient flow and reduce wait times.

The government believes the creation of a dedicated medical service will help balance patient distribution, improve response times, and allow emergency units to focus on critical cases. It also represents part of a broader strategy to modernize the healthcare system and ensure more efficient use of human and medical resources.

If implemented successfully, the initiative could become a model for other regions in Luxembourg, offering both better patient experiences and more sustainable workloads for medical professionals.
Read More : Urgences à Luxembourg: Un nouveau service 24h/24 pour améliorer la prise en charge des patients - L'essentiel

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