It has been three years since the first infection with the new coronavirus was confirmed in Japan.
Elderly facilities in Tokyo continue to be forced to respond to the "8th wave", and while the number of infections among residents is increasing, hospitalization is difficult due to the tightness of medical institutions, so there is no choice but to recuperate in the facility. is spreading.
“Workplace exhaustion due to lack of staff” “Difficulty in hospitalization and emergency transportation”
On the 13th of last week, a meeting related to the new corona of a council made at a facility for the elderly in Tokyo was held online, and the heads of each facility exchanged opinions on the latest impact such as the year-end and New Year holidays of the ``eighth wave'' where infections spread. bottom.
Among them, the participants said that in the same way as in the 7th wave, in the 8th wave, staff and residents at each facility were infected one after another, and there are many cases where the site is exhausted due to a shortage of staff. Reported.
Furthermore, even if a resident is infected, the number of hospital beds in medical institutions is tight, and in the case of mild illness, the number of cases that cannot be hospitalized and must be recuperated in the facility is increasing again. I feel that the situation where it is difficult to do so is emerging at once.”
Tetsuya Tsuruoka, vice chairman of the Tokyo Council of Welfare Facilities for the Elderly, said, "The situation continues to be extremely difficult, but the response to the new coronavirus is not just a problem for one facility, so we will summarize what we have experienced at facilities in various places. I think it is also necessary to create a system that can be utilized.”
Special nursing homes in Tama are also forced to respond
The special nursing home for the elderly in Tama City, Tokyo has been busy with measures against the new coronavirus for the past three years, but since the end of last month, the number of infections among staff and residents has increased again, and it is being forced to respond to the 8th wave. .
According to the facility, the number of infections among staff members has increased since the end of last month, so another staff member or staff member of a facility operated by the same corporation has maintained a 24-hour nursing care system. Continuing, the site is exhausted in the face of a shortage of staff.
In addition, although the number of infections among residents is increasing, there are many cases where residents with mild symptoms cannot be hospitalized due to the tightness of medical institutions, so they are recuperating in isolated private rooms in the facility after taking measures to prevent infection. It means that we are taking measures to receive it.
Tetsuya Tsuruoka, director of the special nursing home for the elderly "Hakurakuso", said, "For the past three years, we have been busy with measures against infectious diseases, and the situation continues to be tense. Initially, we should not bring the virus into the facility. was the most important point for countermeasures, but now the focus is shifting to measures to contain infected people locally and to converge in a short period of time."