In the Vilnius region, 94% are currently occupied. beds for COVID-19 patients, it was announced on Tuesday Santara clinics.
"If 100 additional beds are not installed today and tomorrow for the treatment of those infected with the coronavirus in the Vilnius region, the provision of assistance to new patients will be disrupted," says Aušra Bilotienė-Motiejūnienė, director of Santaras clinics for management.
"This means that the Vilnius region (...) currently has six beds available for the day, plus an additional six patients are planned to be discharged. This means that we have to find where and how we will ensure the treatment and hospitalization of patients suffering from the COVID-19 disease," said the representative of the hospital later during the press conference.
Meanwhile, you should have at least 25 beds per day.
According to her, so far it is not possible to realize the set goal of having 30 additional beds each in Alytus S. Kudirka and Ukmergė hospitals, 10 in Druskininkai hospital, and 60 in Vilnius city clinical hospital.
"As an institution that organizes services, we strongly request the focus, goodwill and quick reaction of all partners. We all understand that we have to take possibly not quite usual, convenient solutions in order to ensure help for all patients", says A. Bilotienė-Motiejūnienė.
According to her, although hospitals in the region are cooperating, the main problem is human resources, as it takes time to recruit staff.
"Everyone says the same thing: we can give beds, we can give units, but we don't have people and that's how it is in regional institutions," said the representative of Santaras clinics.
According to the hospital organizing the treatment of COVID-19 patients in the region, Santara clinics 154 patients with COVID-19 are being treated, three of them are children. 28 of the sick are being treated in the Intensive Care Unit.
Another 208 patients are being treated in support hospitals: Vilnius City Clinical Hospital – 122, of which four are in intensive care, Alytus S. Kudirka Hospital – 43 (four in intensive care), Ukmergė Hospital – 27 (two in intensive care), Vilnius Republican University Hospital – 16 patients.
"Practically everything is filled for today," says the representative of Santaras clinics.
According to Santara clinics, the need to cooperate not only within the region, but also to share capacities between regional institutions is becoming clear, so the load and challenges for the organizing institutions are only growing. Currently, Santara clinics have 47 out of all 36 reanimation-intensive therapy places in the region.
"A very important issue is not only the preparation of places for treatment as soon as possible, but also the personnel who can work. Decisions need to be made today so that there will be someone to treat the sick tomorrow," says one of the Santara clinic managers.
According to her, it is being considered to use help from the outside - residents, polyclinic staff, doctors from other hospitals or to use the help of doctors in self-isolation to work with COVID-19 patients.
"I would think that there is no single correct solution. Most likely, we will have to think about combining both options", says A. Bilotienė Motiejūnienė.
Consideration is also being given to transferring therapeutic patients from one support hospital to another facility to accommodate more beds for COVID-19 patients.
According to her, the clinics will continue to strengthen forces in this sector, providing services to patients in the most difficult condition, so it is necessary that other hospitals in the region help take care of the remaining patients.
Santara clinics treat patients with the most severe form of Covid-19, who cannot be helped by artificial lung ventilation due to respiratory failure caused by viral lung damage. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is used for such patients.
On Tuesday, 14 additional intensive care and intensive care units for patients with COVID-19 are opening at the clinics.
An ECMO unit is opened for patients with the most severe lung damage, where oxygen must be supplied directly into the blood to support life. The newly installed EKMO subsection can treat 7 COVID-19 patients at the same time.
According to one of the managers of Santara Clinics, the hospital is suspending the majority of scheduled surgical and therapeutic inpatient services.
"Since it is not possible to create such conditions in other institutions in the region, we must definitely stop certain planned services during the review of our services - both surgical and therapeutic, leaving, of course, urgent planned services, emergency care and redistribute patient services, care, work, we also redistribute the personnel", said A. Bilotienė Motiejūnienė.
However, she does not rule out that the volume of services will need to be further reduced.
1369 people are currently being treated in hospitals for the coronavirus, 107 of them are in intensive care.
The author is Austėja Masiokaitė-Liubinienė
