Due to the spread of the new coronavirus, 722 clusters of elderly facilities were confirmed nationwide in the six days until the 9th, and 861 in the previous year-end and New Year week, which is around the peak of the 7th wave. it is continuing.
Every week, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare summarizes cases that local governments have recognized as clusters and cases in which two or more people were infected based on reports, etc., and announced on the 11th, including the week of the year-end and New Year holidays.
According to this, in the six days until the 9th, a total of 722 clusters at "elderly welfare facilities" were confirmed nationwide.
The number of cases decreased by more than 200 from the record high of 954 cases in the week until December 25 last year, but the number of cases in the week until the 3rd of this month, which includes the year-end and New Year holidays, was 861, which was the peak of the 7th wave in August. The number of cases has exceeded 850, and the infection situation continues to be tight at nursing care sites where strict measures such as visitation restrictions are being taken.
At the third cluster facility
The people in charge of elderly facilities are also suffering from cluster outbreaks while thorough infection control measures continue.
At a special nursing home in Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture, a cluster of 23 people, including users and staff, was infected from November to December last year.
The cluster at this facility is the 3th time since the corona misfortune started.
Due to the tightness of hospital beds due to the spread of infection, there are now many elderly people who are unable to be hospitalized even if they are infected with Corona and continue to be recuperated at facilities.
In order to support such people, the first thing the facility did under the guidance of the public health center was "zoning" by dividing it into areas.
In addition to limiting access to floors where infections have spread to some employees, we have set up fine lines to prevent employees on other floors from coming into contact with each other from the side entrance to each floor.
In addition, to prevent infection, the cafeteria was closed, and staff in protective clothing delivered meals to each room and changed the method of assisting with meals.
As a result, it took a huge amount of time and effort, so I had no choice but to stop bathing every day and just wipe my body, and I had to stop changing my sheets once a week unless they were very dirty. I did.
In addition, since there is no staff to attend to the visits between users and their families, which were done by appointment, measures are being taken to suspend them while clusters are occurring.
In addition, the facility initially continued the day service business because the suspension of the day service attached to the facility would have a large impact on the users and their families.
However, two weeks after an infected person appeared at the facility, although the route of infection was unknown, the day service was confirmed to be infected and had to be suspended.
Tetsutaka Chino, director of Shinai no Oka Ichikawa, a special nursing home for the elderly, said, ``If the day care service stopped, my family would not be able to go to work, so I tried my best to continue the business, but in the end I gave up. I feel inconsolable. In order to continue the business, it is very difficult and painful to choose which services to temporarily leave and discontinue, and I would like to think about what to do in the future." was
Nursing care facilities rush to apply for BCP training
From next spring, all nursing care facilities will be required to formulate a BCP (Business Continuity Plan) that assumes an epidemic of infectious diseases in the facility so that nursing care services will not be stopped as much as possible even if a cluster occurs.
Currently, it is a "obligation to make efforts", and while some facilities have already made plans in the early stages, there are many facilities that do not know what to do. It means no.
Therefore, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has been holding online training for nursing care facilities on BCP formulation for corona infections since December.
In the training on this day, in the event of an infected person,
▽ who should do what, the contact information of the person in charge, etc. should be clarified, and ▽ work should be done by themselves for at least five days until administrative support begins. In
order to be able to continue, we confirmed that we would decide and prepare the necessary supplies, and
▽ we would organize the priority of our work.
In addition, in group work, various nursing care providers discussed the current situation. I want to do it,” they exchanged their worries and opinions.
Online training was flooded with applications in December and the reservation slots were filled, so the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare wants to support the establishment of BCPs at facilities by holding additional sessions from January onwards.
Special Nursing Home Facility Manager "BCP is just a plan"
On the other hand, at a special elderly nursing home in Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture, where a temporary BCP was created last spring, clusters occurred in July and November, respectively, but there was a scene where the plan made in advance was almost useless. I point out that there was
In July last year, the infection spread in the area on the first floor where the elderly shared rooms.
A total of 11 people remained infected in the facility, and the facility decided to divide the "infected zone" and "clean zone" by hanging plastic sheets from the ceiling of the hallway for zoning. .
Between the two zones, an "intermediate zone" was set up, in which the staff removed protective clothing and prevented the elderly from coming and going to prevent the spread of infection in the "clean zone".
However, during the cluster in November, many people were infected in the private room area on the second floor, so it was decided to set up an "infection zone" for each room.
Then, since each private room is separated by walls and doors, there is no need to separate it with a new vinyl sheet, but there is no "intermediate zone", so when entering and exiting the room or changing clothes in the hallway , It means that there was a need to always be careful, such as whether there was a risk of infecting passing users.
In the BCP in advance, such detailed responses were not specified, and in many cases, responses were decided after a cluster actually occurred.
Satoshi Iino, director of Owl Daikanpeira, a special nursing home for the elderly, said, "We don't know when and where a cluster will occur, and the infection may or may not spread at once, and it is difficult because the way we respond changes each time. BCP. is just a plan, and it is necessary to implement it, evaluate it, redo it, and constantly create new plans.I think that this is an industry that can never stop, so I am always looking for ways to continue. I want to do something about it," he said.
Expert "BCP according to the circumstances of the facility"
Satohisa Hayasaka, an associate professor at Toyo University who is familiar with the field of nursing care, said, ``While there are many elderly people who have little resistance at nursing homes, assistance such as eating and bathing requires contact with other people. While the Omicron strain is highly contagious, it is less likely to become severe, so it seems that there are many asymptomatic infected people in the facility, and it seems that the infection is spreading due to these circumstances.
On top of that, he said, ``Because clusters have occurred even at facilities that have experienced clusters and are taking strict measures, it is assumed that the virus will spread once it is brought in. It is necessary to develop a system to respond quickly to
Regarding business continuity during a cluster, he said, "The BCP is just a general idea, and it does not mean that business will continue just because it is created. It is important to create a BCP that matches the circumstances."
On top of that, he said, ``It is important to make detailed preparations such as zoning, staff allocation, and shifts. I would like you to take a stance and a system to act together for business continuity, such as making adjustments."