The explosion of coronavirus cases in RJ puts the health system under control | National newspaper

In the emergency of a public hospital in the West Zone of Rio, the lack of respirators is already causing the situation that no doctor would like to face, deciding who will survive: “Another patient suspected of Covid, flu syndrome, has saturated the 57% in the environment, and you only have one respirator and 30 more patients who may need it. If we have to choose between who will have a respirator, we will end up taking into account the general condition of the patient. This type of choice moves the team’s head a lot He shakes his head a lot. It is a very dramatic thing, everyone is very shocked, but it is what we are experiencing here in Rio de Janeiro, every turn is like this now. ”

The report is from Dr. Pedro Archer. He decided not to say the name of the hospital where he works, but says that two people have already died on duty because they did not have respirators. “Respirators are missing from the public network. We had a very sad situation in which we lost two patients due to this team, ”he reported.

Doctors to the limit. The entire health system is on the edge. On the afternoon of Wednesday (22), the city of Rio had only 15 beds exclusively for adult patients with Covid-19. This adds up the entire public network: municipal, state and federal. And, on the waiting list for hospitalization, 32 people with suspected illness, already in serious condition.

This Tuesday (21), Rio de Janeiro had a record of cases in a single day. It was 407. It is the equivalent of a new case every three and a half minutes. The latest figures show that the state has 5,552 confirmed cases and 490 deaths. This increase brought Rio de Janeiro into an emergency situation.

The state hopes to get out of trouble with the start of field hospital operations. The one from Riocentro was ready on Sunday (19), but doctors, equipment and respirators are still missing.

The City of Rio received a court order to receive 80 respirators that it ordered from a company in 2019. UFRJ, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, said it will have 60 new beds ready, with respirators, on Monday (27), but that no You can hire doctors.

The lack of professionals is even more serious because many of those who work became ill and were retired. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been more than 1,800.

This Tuesday, a nursing technician died with symptoms of the disease. Jorge Luiz de Lima was 49 years old, he was diabetic and hypertensive. The family said he knew about the risks, but stayed on the job out of love for the profession. This morning, the friends paid tribute: a symbolic hug at the Miguel Couto hospital, where Jorge worked. “The numbers are becoming names. Names of close people, “says nursing technician Laercio Cardoso.

A doctor from another public hospital in Rio, who does not want to be identified, says what it is like to face this disease every day: “It is chaotic. It feels like cleaning ice. You answer one and three arrive. Answer three, another 20. There is no oxygen outlet to ventilate everyone at the same time. Broken Now you’re fine, sit down a bit, let the other in. Now the other one is fine, change again. So things I’ve never seen in my life. ”

The Federal Court gave six federal hospitals in Rio de Janeiro a 48-hour period to start free beds for patients from other public units. This Wednesday (22), 237 patients in the city of Rio were waiting for the transfer. The fine for the director of the federal hospital that does not comply with the measure is R $ 1,000 per day.