Index – Domestic – András Lovas: The healthcare system has already overflowed



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The Medical Online portal reported on Thursday’s online congress of the Hungarian Society for Emergency Medicine (MSOTKE) in a dramatic report, citing András Lovas, head of the Central Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care at Semmelweis Hospital in Kiskunhalas.

Hospitals have 1,000 intensive care beds, 60 to 70 percent of which were booked in January with normal care. The available staff can serve up to 2,000 patients who need intensive care, compared to more than 5,000 people in institutions on November 5, and the number is growing exponentially, with 378 on ventilators, the department head said.

András Lovas said that there are already intensive care units where the spring recommendation of the Hungarian Medical Chamber (MOK) should be applied, which was developed in case the health care system could no longer cope with the large number of diseases Covid-19. This 30-page document, released in the spring, helps clinicians classify patients very simply. In the words of Zsolt Hegedűs, president of the College of Ethics of the Hungarian Medical Chamber, “removing the burden of a harsh and morally onerous choice from the shoulders of individual medical decisions”.

The goal is to save as many lives as possible, but this requires prioritizing patients who are more likely to be cured with appropriate therapy, compared to those who are less likely to do so, the portal cites. According to the recommendation, the decision should be made in accordance with the principle of profit maximization, the financial situation of the patient, age, disability, gender, race, religion, reputation should not be taken into account, and accept money in such a situation it is a criminal offense. also that patients whose therapy does not continue should receive adequate palliative care.

András Lovas also spoke about the fact that such a forced decision, which should not be made by the doctor but by a team, is hampered by the fact that individual intensive care units have no idea where a bed can be. empty, a free fan.

More and more people go to hospitals, so it is very important that decisions are made professionally, and it is also clear for the population on which ethical principles and scientific data care is based – András Lovas emphasized. He also mentioned that the capacity available in intensive care is further reduced by the fact that there are also patients in wards not designated by Covid who are no longer detectable with the Sars-CoV-2 virus, but their condition requires intensive care. In addition, caring for covids requires double staff in addition to one shift, as professionals have to constantly change from one another through the use of protective equipment. And the number of nurses is further depleted by the fact that more and more are becoming infected and out of work.



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