Osaka Medical collapse crisis 66% of hospitals responded that they "exceeded the limit"

When NHK asked 50 major hospitals in Osaka Prefecture, which treat corona patients, about the current medical care provision system in the form of a questionnaire, 66% of the respondents said, "The current situation is the function of the hospital. The reality is that the medical care provision system is facing a crisis of collapse.

In addition, 88% of hospitals answered that "general medical care is being affected," confirming the fact that it is also having a significant impact on the field of community medicine.

In Osaka Prefecture, due to the rapid spread of the new corona, patients who cannot be hospitalized in severely ill beds have to be treated in moderately ill beds, and patients waiting for hospitalization die one after another at home. , The medical care delivery system is in danger of collapse.

NHK interviewed 50 major hospitals that accept corona patients in Osaka Prefecture from the 7th to the 13th of this month in the form of a questionnaire, and received responses from 32 hospitals, which is 64% of them. It was.

Among them, 66%, 21 hospitals answered, "I have declined the hospitalization request for corona patients in the last week."

In addition, 76% of them, 16 out of 21 hospitals, answered that "the treatment of corona patients is hindered".

When asked about the reason, several hospitals answered, "The manpower of doctors and nurses was taken by critically ill patients, and we could not adequately deal with moderately ill patients." There was a limit to the treatment that could be done to accept critically ill patients. ”It became clear that the rapid increase in critically ill patients has had a serious impact on the treatment of moderately ill patients.

In addition, 88% of the respondents, 28 hospitals, answered that "general medical care other than corona is hindered."

Specifically, several hospitals responded that they had to postpone urgent surgery or hospitalization, and that they had to put patients other than Corona, who would normally be treated in the intensive care unit, into their normal beds. There was also a response such as "No," and he complained that he was unable to deliver the necessary medical care and had a serious impact on regional medical care.

And, at a rate of 66%, 21 hospitals answered that "the current situation exceeds the limits of the functions of hospitals", and the fact that the medical care provision system is facing the crisis of bankruptcy is once again highlighted. It was.

From the field, "there is no place to go even if the patient becomes seriously ill" or "the contribution to community medicine that we should make is completely collapsed in the situation where we cannot deal with patients who need specialized treatment". There was a sad voice like that.

Hospital "Something close to life's choice is being done"

In Osaka City, a hospital that mainly accepts patients with the new type of coronavirus with moderate illness told NHK that "Severely ill patients who are not expected to be accepted are brought in one after another, and support from other wards such as nurses. In some cases, both corona patients and general patients have to refuse even if they call for a response. I am reluctant, but the situation is close to the choice of life. " He complained that he was in a situation that exceeded the functions of.

The "Community Medical Function Promotion Organization Osaka Hospital" in Fukushima Ward, Osaka, has set up 20 beds for mild and moderately ill patients, and as of the 7th of this month, 18 patients were hospitalized, and apart from that, 6 severely ill patients I am treating.

At Osaka Hospital, the 8-bed ICU = intensive care unit was used for general patients so far, but the number of critically ill patients accepted is increasing, and it is necessary to deal with patients who have become severely ill during hospitalization. The ICU room was divided in half and a temporary ICU for Corona patients was set up on the 16th of last month.

Dr. Toshiro Nishida, the director of the hospital, said, "Since it is not expected to accept a large number of critically ill patients, there are not enough facilities to check the condition of critically ill patients. This is the situation. Due to this effect, there are cases where both corona patients and general patients have to refuse due to lack of manpower, "he said, and he has no choice but to deal with it without sufficient facilities for critically ill patients. I talked about the actual situation.

Under these circumstances, he testified that hospitals are often forced to refuse to accept more than a dozen corona patients a day.

In addition, since it takes a lot of manpower to deal with corona patients, it has a great impact on general medical care, and it is relatively urgent, such as glaucoma surgery scheduled on the 6th and 7th of this month. He explained that he had to postpone 10 of the surgeries he had decided to do.

Nishida pointed out that the hospital's functions have been exceeded, and said, "We are in a situation where we have to refuse an emergency, and although we are reluctant, things that are close to life choices are being made. It's a situation. In order to curb a pandemic like a disaster, we have to work together to reduce the number of infected people. "

Prefectural Hospital Association "I managed to survive the emergency in terms of bicycle operation"

Regarding the results of the questionnaire conducted by NHK, Hiroshi Sasaki, chairman of the Osaka Prefectural Hospital Association, which is created at hospitals in Osaka Prefecture, said, "From the results, I am keenly aware of the lack of equipment and medical staff to diagnose critically ill patients at many hospitals, but soon. It is not possible to replenish the hospital, and the current situation is that the bicycle operation is somehow surpassing the emergency. "

On top of that, he said, "In Osaka, we are not able to handle the unexpected number of patients. There is a high possibility that we will not be able to receive sufficient treatment even if we get sick because the usual medical care is shrinking considerably." explained.

In addition, Chairman Sasaki said, "The tight medical situation will not be resolved immediately. We will ask the government to continue efforts to reduce the number of newly infected people, and each individual will take proper measures to prevent infection against highly infectious mutant strains. There is no choice but to continue. "

And now, regarding the spread of infected people all over the country, "The medical strain that is occurring in Osaka can occur in other areas as well. What is important is that the worst situation occurs while the number of infected people is small. It is necessary to fully discuss and prepare what to do with the medical care provision system. I hope that it will be too late after the spread and there will be no more time to spare. "