RJ authorities study the criteria to choose which patients will be entitled to the ICU | National newspaper

The images generate discomfort, pain and are the proof of chaos. Another hospital in Rio has a crowded morgue. The bodies are located in the basement of the Salgado Filho Municipal Hospital, one of the most important in the North Zone of the city, while a refrigerated container is not installed.

This Friday (1st) was the day with the highest number of deaths from Covid in the state. In total, there are more than 900 dead. Almost three times more than ten days ago.

“My father was 50 years old. Profession-loving postman. I walked periodically, went to the gym every day, ate healthy food, had no pre-existing illness. He was a man full of life, “says the son of a victim.

And for two weeks, the lack of beds has also driven families to despair. There are people who leave the hospital right after the appointment, even without being able to be discharged. There are more than 600 patients who need a place in a ward. And the problems don’t end there.

Nearly 400 hospitalized patients in serious condition, suspected or confirmed of coronavirus, await a bed in the ICU, a respirator.

On Thursday (30), Jornal Nacional demonstrated that this reality could be mitigated by opening some 2,700 idle beds in units of the three spheres of government.

This Friday morning, a commission made up of parliamentarians surveyed three of these hospitals to verify the complaint.

If the coronavirus case and death curve remains uncontrolled and the lack of resources in hospitals becomes even more evident, the prognosis is that doctors will have to make a painful decision: who will be entitled to a bed in the ICU? Who lives and who dies.

The State Department of Health is already studying this protocol, with the help of the Rio Regional Council of Medicine. Faced with the impasse, doctors would have to test six organs from Covid patients, including the lungs, kidneys, and heart. And then assign ratings to how they work. Pre-existing diseases would also be scored. The place would win, whoever had the least amount of points.

One of the tiebreak criteria would be age: the younger, the more possibilities. A similar protocol is being adopted in Italy and Spain.

This Friday (1), the second field hospital was opened in Rio. It is in the Riocentro convention center, in the West Zone, and is the responsibility of the City Council. On the site, equipment and doctors are still lacking. For now, capacity is below forecast. Only 100 of the 500 beds were released.

The Rio city government said it hired 126 doctors to work at the field hospital. And that did not give a deadline for the complete operation because it depends on the arrival of professionals and teams.