Vanesa Lopez
07/21/2020 - 16:33
- Clarín.com
- Society
In the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, in the private sanatoriums and clinics of the City, more than 80% of the so-called “critical” beds are occupied , according to the figures managed by the Buenos Aires subsidiary of the Argentine Society of Intensive Therapy (SATI).
The same entity records that Buenos Aires public hospitals have around 90% occupancy . A much higher figure than that released on Monday night in the last official part, which indicated 65% in the metropolitan area (AMBA) and 55.6% in the Nation.
"It 's a statistic that involves dozens of intensive care services, but not entirely , " says a Clarin Dr. Arnaldo Rubin, a member of SATI and professor of intensive care at the University of La Plata. For confidentiality reasons, he cannot mention the clinics that are covered in the report, but says that it includes the most important ones in the City .
“We are at levels that are definitely worrying . Clearly, there is an increasing number of occupations in intensive care. If the disease continues to progress, and if the sanitary measures that have been taken continue to be taken, the collapse is probable, ”says Rubin.
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Watch the SpecialWhen asked when this limit situation could be reached, he replies: "I don't know if it will reach 100%, because a miracle happens and people stop going out on the street and protect themselves adequately."
“The only thing that sets the pace of the disease is isolation. And this instead of getting stricter, it is relaxing, "regrets Rubin, unhappy with the latest measures taken by the Government. “ With flexibility it will be worse . I am not an epidemiologist, I am not a health worker, but from the reality that we see in intensive care, this is very difficult to understand, ”he concludes.
His approach coincides with that of Claudio Belocopitt, head of the Argentine Union of Health Entities (UAS). "The situation in private health entities is very critical, the occupation is very high," he told the TN news channel.
"Three weeks ago the system was working at 65% occupancy and today on average it is at 85% . The occupation is growing very fast in the last days and that has to be an alert for the population, "Belocopitt explained.
Swiss Medical Group - a company Belocopitt owns - has a 75% occupancy in intensive care beds and 90% in common beds. This includes all the health centers that are part of the group, such as the Los Arcos Sanatorium, the Suizo Argentina Clinic and Maternity Hospital, the Agote Sanatorium, the Olivos Clinic and the Zabala Clinic. Company spokespeople clarify that these data are approximate, since the situation is "extremely dynamic".
The Sacred Heart sanatorium, from the social work OSECAC, has 80% of the total beds occupied , half of them destined for Covid-19 cases. Regarding critical beds, the occupation reaches 75% and only 15% of them have people with coronavirus. Company sources consider the situation to be "manageable" , to the extent that "older people continue to take care of themselves."
At CEMIC, 90% of total hospital beds are occupied . As for the critical units in adults, the occupation is 77% , more than half (60%) by patients with coronavirus .
“We have been with an increasing occupancy rate for a week. Critically and moderately critically ill patients will grow , only because of the progression of the disease and because the stay of the patients in ICU (intensive care units) is above 15 days and the ward patients (more moderate) are between 5 and 7 days ”, comments Hugo Magonza, CEO of CEMIC.
Magonza mentions several steps they took. For example, they suspended all serious non-urgent activities , to avoid infections and to dispose of beds. Furthermore, since the beginning of the epidemic, the number of beds grew by 50%, particularly those of moderate and low complexity. As for the complex ones, "the possibility of growing even more is much more difficult," he acknowledges.
In the Güemes Sanatorium, the occupation of all beds (common and intensive care) for almost two months is around 90% . Approximately half of these patients have coronaviruses , between the positives and those awaiting the swab result.
However, spokespersons for this medical center in the Palermo neighborhood - which cares for 108 social and prepaid works - assure that its "normal" operation is with high occupancy. “ It is a common situation at this time . Last winter, we worked like this all the time, ”they point out.
“The percentage of beds varies depending on the schedule. For example, in the morning and until 2 p.m. there are discharges, about 20 or 30 beds are usually released, which are reoccupied during the day ", they detail in the Güemes.
Guillermo Lorenzo, vice president of ADECRA, agrees with the seasonal factor . "In winter intensive therapies are always full, it is the peak period of work and when there are more respiratory symptoms," he explains. He adds that "as we are used to working 100% in winter, every winter we know how to manage and give patients are discharged as soon as the table allows it ”.
"Since Covid-19 arrived in our country, and even before, all private institutions, serving approximately 70% of the population in the country, have been preparing for this moment," continues Lorenzo. And he mentions various measures they took in the sector, such as increasing the capacity of beds, hiring additional staff, and reducing the number of major surgeries scheduled.
“Each step taken was agreed with the national authorities and from each jurisdiction in the matter. We have received all the support and they have listened to us when we went with demands to relax or modify protocols as the pandemic progressed in stages, "closes Lorenzo.
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