“Four people died while waiting at home this month alone.”

On the morning of the 28th, medical staff are busy moving into the new coronavirus infection room (Corona 19) at the Incheon Red Cross Hospital in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. Newsis

There were 4 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) who died at home while waiting in bed this month, and 46 people died in nursing facilities. This is because the bed was not supplied correctly. The government is working hard to secure hospital beds, such as the conversion of the US Corps of Engineering building, which will be relocated by the National Medical Center, into a COVID-19 quarantine treatment room through construction. of emergency.

On the 28th, the National Medical Center said: “As the third coronavirus pandemic and the shortage of beds continue, the National Medical Center will be relocated and the Central Hospital for Infectious Diseases will be built. I decided to do so.”

The National Medical Center obtained the budget and manpower from the Ministry of Health and Welfare and began construction immediately. The goal is to become operational in the second week of January 2021. The quarantine treatment room is operated mainly for mild corona 19 patients and mild high-risk patients, but if the patient’s condition deteriorates, it is transferred to the unit negative pressure isolation intensive care facility of the National Medical Center located 25 meters away. The National Medical Center said that “efficient operation of the hospital bed will be possible according to the patient’s condition.”

Together with Democratic Party representative Lee Nak-yeon, they are all speaking at the ‘Hospital Association for Cooperation Conference to Secure New Beds from Coronavirus Infectious Diseases (Corona 19)’ held at the National Assembly in the morning on the 24th. Reporter Oh Dae-geun

The government has issued an administrative order to secure beds not only to public medical institutions but also to high-level private hospitals, but it has not been able to keep up with the occurrence rate of an average of 1,000 cases per day. According to the Central Headquarters for Security and Disaster Countermeasures (companion), 63 patients are waiting for bed for more than a day. There are 153 beds in the country that can be cared for critically ill patients, of which only 68 beds remain in double digits in the metropolitan area. In December alone, 4 patients died while waiting at home (from 0:00 on the 27th). There was only one person who died while waiting at home during the first pandemic in Daegu and Gyeongbuk.

There is also an urgent need to secure a bed for those who have been confirmed in nursing homes to receive necessary treatment. Only 46 confirmed people died in nursing homes and nursing homes this month. Since they are elderly and suffer from various underlying illnesses, such as bruises and dementia, they have difficulty transferring to a dedicated infectious disease hospital due to the need for a separate workforce. The government belatedly announced that it would designate a total of three nursing hospitals dedicated to infectious diseases, one in Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon.

The government plans to designate an additional hospital dedicated to infectious diseases for mentally ill patients in Chungbuk. The National Center for Mental Health and National Masan Hospital are currently designated as dedicated infectious disease hospitals for patients with mental illness. Yoon Tae-ho, head of Accident Control Headquarters (Heavy Su-bon), explained the day: “We are making efforts to secure custom beds for patients that are difficult to handle, require a lot of care, but are not seen seriously. affected by Corona 19 “.

Song okjin reporter [email protected]

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