The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is demanding that the facility be able to receive medical treatment in response to a series of cases in which users of facilities for the elderly cannot be hospitalized even if they are infected by the sixth wave of the new coronavirus. It turned out that only 65% of the facilities are built at the moment.
In the 6th wave, the number of infected people increased rapidly and the beds became tight in various places, and at the facility where the elderly and disabled lived, more than 6000 people could not be hospitalized at one time and were forced to receive medical treatment at the facility.
Especially in facilities for the elderly, many users need long-term care, so it is difficult to accept them at hospitals, and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is requesting local governments to aim for a system that can treat them by dispatching doctors to the facilities.
As a result of investigating whether the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has secured a system to receive treatment at 56,119 facilities nationwide, it answered that as of 22nd of this month, 36,122 facilities, which is 65%, have been secured. bottom.
Looking at the ratio by prefecture, 7 prefectures such as Shizuoka and Yamaguchi prefectures had 100%, while Hyogo prefecture, which had the lowest ratio, had 16%, and Tokyo had 34%.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare says, "Since there are about 30% of facilities that did not respond by the deadline, we would like to continue to confirm and quickly establish a system to receive treatment at the facilities."
Securing a treatment system at facilities for the elderly Percentage by prefecture
Iwate, Toyama, Shizuoka, Tottori, Yamaguchi, Tokushima, and Kagawa prefectures account for 100% of the elderly facilities that answered that they have a system to receive treatment at the facility, followed by Yamanashi. 96% of prefectures, 95% of Saga prefectures, 94% of Osaka and Fukui prefectures, 89% of Okayama prefectures, etc.
On the other hand, the lowest was Hyogo prefecture at 16%, followed by Kagoshima prefecture at 21%, Akita and Mie prefectures at 33%, Tokyo at 34%, and Fukuoka prefecture at 41%.
There is also a movement to dispatch doctors and nurses to facilities for the elderly as soon as possible.
Some local governments have begun to dispatch doctors and nurses as soon as possible when a person infected with the new coronavirus appears in a facility for the elderly.
In Sumida Ward, Tokyo, when an infected person is confirmed at a facility, the facility first contacts the health center, and each time the facility is looking for a hospital where doctors can be dispatched.
However, the hospital side has not always been able to secure doctors and nurses who can be dispatched, and it may take several days to dispatch, and during that time, the symptoms of the users worsened and the infection spread in some cases. That is.
For this reason, Sumida Ward has decided to create a specialized team of doctors and nurses who can be dispatched to a specific hospital within 24 hours in principle.
On the 25th of this month, the person in charge of the ward visited the local "Tokyo Hikifune Hospital", explained the infection situation such as a series of clusters at the elderly facilities in the ward, and asked for cooperation.
It is assumed that the local medical association, not the health center, will receive a dispatch request from the facility, which can be expected to reduce the work of the health center.
Kunihisa Miura, Deputy Director of Tokyo Hikifune Hospital, said, "If the medical team rushes to a facility for the elderly early, I think that treatment can be done to prevent it from becoming serious and there are deaths that can be prevented. I would like to cooperate as much as possible because it will help to reduce the strain on the patient. "
Sumida Ward Health Center Director Toru Nishizuka said, "There are issues such as when infections occur one after another at multiple facilities and what to do with the holiday system, but I want to form a team as soon as possible and protect the lives and health of the elderly." I was talking.
Expert "Omicron strain Elderly people can reduce death if they are well protected"
Dr. Yoshihiro Takayama of Okinawa Prefectural Chubu Hospital, who is a member of the expert meeting of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and is familiar with infectious diseases, said that 65% of the facilities for the elderly were able to secure a treatment system. Isn't it? If there are areas or facilities where support is not available, the detection of outbreaks may be delayed. "
On top of that, "Even if there is a support system, if there is only one team, there is a risk that it will be delayed to get support for the necessary facilities, or it may not be possible to get support in the first place. Actually it can be operated immediately. And it is important to proceed with the development so that support can be provided to all regions. "
Since July, Okinawa Prefecture has dispatched a specialized medical team to a facility for the elderly, which has been confirmed to be infected. It is known that if the Omicron strain can protect the elderly well, the number of people who die can be reduced, so it is necessary to confirm the regional cooperation system so that it can lead to early detection, early intervention, and early treatment. I need it. "
Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Goto "I want to build a system further"
At a press conference, Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Goto said, "We will continue to build a system so that dispatching medical support to facilities for the elderly will be effective while carefully listening to the details of the system and local circumstances. I would like to continue to work closely with prefectures so that we can respond appropriately to the situations that arise. "