Corona-infected persons who need long-term care To speed up hospitalization with the new system Sapporo September 16 5:45
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In April, an outbreak of the new coronavirus outbreak occurred at a nursing facility in Sapporo, and 12 residents died at the facility without finding a hospital.
Based on this lesson, the city has put in place a system to quickly identify hospitals that can accept infected people who need long-term care and lead to prompt hospitalization.
In April, an outbreak occurred at the Long-Term Care Health Facility in Sapporo City, and 12 residents died in the facility without the city being able to secure a hospital.
Based on the lessons learned from this problem, Sapporo City has developed an information system jointly developed by Sapporo Medical University and a company in Sapporo.
The system is attended by 15 hospitals in the city, and you can immediately see how many infected people in need of care can be accepted at each hospital just by looking at the screen.
Information is updated daily in the morning and evening.
Before the system was put in place, city officials would call directly to a hospital that was likely to be accepted and negotiate.
However, since not only treatment and nursing but also long-term care is required, there are many cases where the hospital refuses to say "it is a heavy burden" and it takes time to make a decision, and it takes time and manpower to secure a hospital. It was.
Shuji Uemura, a lecturer at Sapporo Medical University, who played a central role in the development, said, "By grasping the number of people who will be accepted on that day, hospitalization adjustment will be very smooth. I want to lead to quick hospitalization by the system." I am.
Outbreak of 17 deaths in the background of system maintenance
One of the most important things to watch out for with the new coronavirus is outbreaks in long-term care facilities.
Elderly people are at high risk of aggravation, and because they live together in institutions, once the infection spreads, there is a risk that many people will need hospital treatment.
In April this year, the Long-Term Care Health Facility "Ibarado Acacia Heights" in Sapporo City suffered the largest outbreak in Japan as a nursing facility, infecting 71 residents and killing 17 of them.
Twelve of the 17 people died in the facility without being admitted to the hospital, and the bereaved families raised doubts about Sapporo City's response to keeping elderly people at high risk of serious illness in the facility. ..
In the background of the city's response, new infected people were confirmed at a pace of more than 20 people a day at that time, and the beds of hospitals in the city were tight, and the system was prepared to prevent the same situation. it was done.
Specifically, even before the spread of the infection, the hospitals that participate in the system should be able to keep track of how many infected people in need of care will be accepted by the city of Sapporo, which coordinates hospitalization. We are also trying to understand the acceptance system of other hospitals, and to encourage cooperation between hospitals to secure hospitalization destinations when many infected people come out at once due to outbreaks.
In April, Sapporo City introduced its own system to quickly secure hospitalization for general infected people, but there was no item as to whether elderly people in need of long-term care would be accepted. So, he says, "I want to make sure to apply the lessons learned from Ibarado Acacia Heights."
A series of outbreaks in facilities for the elderly
Elderly people at high risk of becoming severe.
The national government has made infection control in facilities for the elderly one of its priority items.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, there were at least 170 outbreaks in facilities for the elderly as of the 14th of this month.
One of the concrete measures to protect the elderly is "expansion of inspections".
On the 28th of last month, the government's response headquarters announced a policy to carry out regular inspections of residents and staff of facilities for the elderly in areas where clusters are occurring.
We have also requested local governments to create a system that allows infected people to be hospitalized promptly.
Therefore, the point is to secure a bed and make quick adjustments.
Regarding the securing of beds, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare is requesting prefectures to prepare for outbreaks at facilities, as a general rule that "elderly people should be hospitalized regardless of the degree of symptoms."
However, it is a challenge for many local governments to quickly "understand" and "adjust" medical institutions that can immediately accept elderly people in need of long-term care.
Regarding the new system of Sapporo City, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said, "It is an effective initiative to lead to prompt hospitalization and may be a reference for other local governments. More manpower than usual for hospitalization of people in need of long-term care. It may be necessary for the local government to secure a bed with plenty of time. "