New corona patients Accepted at 103 university hospitals nationwide and secured 817 beds

New corona patients Accepted at 103 university hospitals nationwide and secured 817 beds April 16 18:37

With the spread of new coronavirus infections, university hospitals are increasingly accepting patients. The country's summary found that up to now, 103 university hospitals across the country have been prepared to accept and have 817 beds.

Amid the spread of new coronavirus infections, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology issued a notification on the 9th of this month to the heads of university hospitals nationwide to accept patients infected with the new coronavirus as much as possible.

According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's summary, out of 170 university hospitals nationwide, 103 hospitals were ready for acceptance on the 14th, and the number of beds secured has reached 817.

Of these, 233 beds are for severely ill patients.

72 hospitals have already accepted patients, and the total number of patients is 467.

In Tokyo, where the number of patients is rapidly increasing, 22 university hospitals have 162 beds.

However, accepting an infected person at a university hospital is not easy.

University hospitals play a role in providing medical care that requires advanced technology, and by accepting infected people, treatment of patients with cancer and intractable diseases is delayed, and surgery is discontinued in cases of less urgent illness. However, there are cases in which it is postponed.

On the other hand, advanced medical technology possessed by medical staff of university hospitals such as ventilators and ECMO is essential for treating severely ill patients.

“It's not normal now, so I hope that the advanced medical technology and capabilities of university hospitals will be applied to the treatment of the new coronavirus,” said Toshikama Kamato, Executive Director of the Japan Medical Association.

Clarification of division of roles in university hospitals

On the other hand, when accepting patients infected with the new coronavirus, there are many cases in which the outpatient department is reduced and the cost is increased, which affects the management of the hospital.

How will accepting new coronavirus patients affect hospital income?

According to the data obtained by NHK, it is estimated that one university hospital in the Kanto region will reduce the consultation fee by more than 1.2 billion yen due to the reduction of the outpatient department, and another university hospital will cost more than 12 million yen just for the cost of protective equipment such as masks. It has been.

A university hospital official said, “Currently, management is very important in university hospitals, and in the unlikely event of a nosocomial infection, we may have to close the hospital. He added, "I think that the university hospital is the last stronghold of regional medical care, so we want to clarify the division of roles by accepting only seriously ill people instead of accepting patients."

Initiatives at university hospitals in Tokyo Team medical care

Originally, a university hospital in Mitaka City, Tokyo, is not a designated medical institution for infectious diseases, but since March, we have established a “fever-coronavirus infectious disease team” to treat patients.

It consists of 15 doctors, mainly an infectious disease doctor, anesthesia, surgery, and lifesaving emergency, and 15 doctors such as a nurse, pharmacist, and clinical engineer in charge of medical equipment. I am.

This team was set up to maintain a system that can cover the case where an infected person emerges from the medical staff and can perform the original medical treatment to the extent possible.

To accept infected people, we asked patients who were in the intensive care unit to move to another ward.

In this way, we have secured 38 beds that can accommodate severe patients who need to use mechanical ventilation and ECMO.

Professor Haruyuki Ishii of the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kyorin University Hospital, who was involved in the establishment of the team, said, “The original university hospital is aimed at providing medical care to patients who require advanced medical technology. There is a medical institution in the region that is in a difficult situation for the treatment of, and the mission is to support it at the university hospital.It is quite difficult if many doctors work together to provide team medical treatment. I think it's an illness that I can't confront. "