How do hospitals deal with great uncertainty during this pandemic?

In an article recently published, our researchers Dr. Bert de Graaff, Jenske Bal MSc and Prof. Roland Bal analyse the work that hospitals had to do in this regard. Based on observations of decision-making processes in a large university hospital in the Netherlands, they show how hospitals dealt with uncertainty and scarcity and what solutions they came up with. The researchers look at the role of numbers and informal relationships, and at the 'tinkering' (with materials, with organisational forms) that was necessary to cope with the pandemic. The researchers also pay attention to the blind spots that emerged, such as the large scaling down of 'normal' hospital care and the needs of long-term care.