Beds are becoming tight due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection.
In Osaka, even if the condition of a patient being treated at home suddenly changes and an ambulance is called, the hospital to accept the patient has not been decided, and in some cases it took about 4 hours to transport.
I am in a situation where I cannot receive treatment immediately.
As of the 20th of Osaka, the operation rate for critically ill patients was 99.2%, and another 60 critically ill patients are being treated in beds for mild and moderately ill patients.
Along with this, the bed operation rate for mild and moderately ill patients has reached 79.9%.
For this reason, even if the condition of a patient undergoing medical treatment at home or accommodation suddenly changes and an ambulance is called, it is difficult to find a place to accept it for a long time.
According to the Higashi-Osaka City Fire Department, when transporting a new corona patient during the week from the 10th to the 16th of this month, it took an average of 46 minutes from the time of arriving at the site to the time of departure for the hospital. about it.
In the last few days, it has taken several hours in some cases, and on the 20th, it took about 4 hours to transport a male patient in his 50s who became ill during medical treatment at home.
The person in charge of the communication command room of the Higashi-Osaka City Fire Bureau's Security Department said that even if the number of corona patients transported increased, they would take all possible measures to deal with them. It will not be possible to dispatch to the case. The burden on other units will increase accordingly, and there is concern that civil service will decline. "
Corona patient transport more than 1 hour 270 cases more than 5 times the previous week
Cases where it takes a long time to transport patients with the new corona are increasing in various places.
According to a summary by the Osaka Municipal Fire Department, there were 270 cases last week when transporting patients with the new corona, which took more than an hour from arrival at the site to departure to the hospital.
It surged with the spread of the infection, more than five times the previous week.
Due to the tightness of the bed, transportation other than corona patients is also affected.
In the case of emergency transportation, it took more than 30 minutes from the time of arrival to the patient to the time of departure, and the case of inquiring whether it was acceptable to 4 or more hospitals is called "emergency transportation difficulty case". ..
Most of the cases are for transporting patients other than corona patients, but within the jurisdiction of the Osaka Municipal Fire Department, there were 281 cases last week, an increase of more than 100 cases compared to the week from 22nd last month.
Fire departments in various regions have a sense of crisis that if the number of cases where transportation takes a long time increases with the new corona, it may affect other transportation such as sudden illness and accidents.
Over 8,500 recuperators at home, etc.
In Osaka prefecture, some people have been forced to take medical treatment at home for a long time after the infection of the new corona was confirmed due to the tight medical treatment.
As of the 20th, there were about 8,500 people, which has more than tripled in the last two weeks.
Many people are forced to take care of themselves at home with anxiety because they cannot see a doctor directly after a positive result is confirmed.
Even if I call the ambulance twice, it is not transported
On the 5th of this month, an asymptomatic son of a college student was confirmed to be infected at the house of a man in his 50s in Osaka, who lives with his wife, college student, and high school child.
However, his son was treated at home because there was no room in the accommodation facility.
The next day, my wife in her 50s had a fever, and a PCR test confirmed that she was also positive on the 10th of this month.
The health center asked me to take care of myself at home, measure the blood level and report it on the app every day, but I haven't received a machine to measure oxygen.
On the 13th of this month, three days after his wife was confirmed positive, the man called an ambulance because he complained of fever, general malaise, and chest pain.
However, emergency personnel said that the bed was so tight that they could not be taken to the hospital without the permission of the health center.
Two more days later, on the 15th of this month, I found my wife collapsed in the bathroom and fainted, and made a second emergency request.
This time, the ambulance crew contacted a doctor at the health center, but was not transported because the oxygen level in the blood was not the number that required hospitalization.
After that, my wife's fever dropped from 36 degrees to 37 degrees this week, but she continued to feel tired that she had never experienced it before, and she is still asleep.
The man said, "I heard that the bed is tight, but I realized that medical care is more difficult than I imagined. I think that many people like my wife are spending time at home at the risk of sudden changes. I hope that the number of infected people will decrease as soon as possible and that we will be able to receive medical care properly. "
Osaka Municipal Fire Department "Cannot be transported without the instructions of the health center"
Regarding this situation, the Osaka Municipal Fire Department says, "Although there is a request for transportation from a home recuperator, it cannot be transported without the instructions of the health center because the bed is pulled."