Vilnius “burns”: last available COVID-19 beds are counted, I.Šimonytė talks about load redistribution

There are 708 beds for COVID-19 patients throughout the Vilnius region and another 100 in the Resuscitation-Intensive Care Unit, according to data from the Santara Clinics of the Vilnius University Hospital (VUL).

According to Monday, 89 percent – that is, 628 of 708 – of the beds are occupied, in resuscitation there are 15 vacancies for extremely difficult patients.

In some cities in the Vilnius region there are no free beds, in others there are not even ten.

As coronavirus infections increase, so do other treatment facilities.

There is nowhere to expand

The situation at the Vilnius City Clinical Hospital is not enviable.

The COVID-19 unit has expanded the treatment facility as much as possible, there is no more 15 minutes said Žydrė Gedrimaitė, a public relations specialist at this medical institution.

“Everything is maximized, we already have as much as we have,” he said.

The treatment facility has a total of 322 beds for COVID-19 patients, 12 of whom are in resuscitation.

According to data from Monday, April 26, a total of 216 beds were occupied, and there are no more vacancies in resuscitation.

Like last week 15 minutes said Dr. Algirdas Pilvelis, the hospital’s coordinator for the treatment and organization of COVID-19, and most of the patients admitted to the hospital have a severe form of COVID-19 and need oxygen.

“There are also critically severe cases of the disease form,” added A. Pilvelis.

In the hospital, COVID-19, according to the doctor, treats more elderly patients, although there are also more young people.

“Our treatment institution generally treats people older than 65 years (58-62 percent) and younger than 65 years (38 to 42 percent) of all patients treated,” said the doctor at the Hospital Clínico de la Ciudad de Vilnius.

At VUL Santara clinics, slightly more than 159 vacancies are filled.

In Kaunas, the number of beds is increasing

The situation in the Kaunas region has been better than in the capital for some time, but the number of coronavirus-infected patients is also increasing here.

In total, the Kaunas Hospital of the Lithuanian Health Sciences University (LSMU) has about 1.6 thousand beds for patients. For the treatment of COVID-19, they are prescribed limiting other services.

As far away as 15 minutes Saulius Tvirbutas, spokesman for LSMU Kaunas Hospital, said that several therapeutic units are not yet open in Josvainių str. Unit 2, and the Infectious Diseases Department, unfortunately, is only for COVID-19 patients.

“In December of last year, we had about 250 COVID-19 patients. During January and February they fell to 70, but since mid-March they have risen again and now we have about 200.

By decision of the Management Group of the Kaunas COVID-19 Region, we were ordered to prepare 210 beds, so we have almost reached the established limit ”, transmitted S.Tvirbutas the current situation in the medical institution.

Resuscitation currently occupies 11 beds out of 14.

Some of the medical and nursing staff will need to be sent back to COVID-19.

According to him, there are still attempts to protect the wards whose doors were recently opened when the number of coronavirus patients decreased in February and some staff members were able to return to them.

The Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Skin and Venereal Diseases are back in operation in Šilainiai.

Scheduled surgery and urology are performed not just for COVID-19 patients.

The activities of the Department of Childhood Diseases on Baltijos Street. 120. Center, Laisvės al. In Division 17, the Departments of Internal Medicine and Neurology are working again.

“As the number of critically ill COVID-19 patients increases, we still leave them at least half capacity, but part of the medical and nursing staff must be sent back to the COVID-19 units,” explained a representative. from LSMU Kaunas Hospital.

Klaipėdoje’s situation is stable

In other places, such as the port city, the situation is better.

According to the representative of the Klaipėda Aistė Noreikaitė University Hospital, the situation in this hospital has been relatively stable for several weeks.

There are currently 43 coronavirus patients being treated here. 9 of them in resuscitation. A week ago, there were 37 patients in the hospital.

“You can say that the numbers are growing, but not strongly. How worrying is the fact that COVID-19 strains have been identified in four patients who were lying in the hospital, ”said A. Noreikaitė.

Until a few months ago, there were about 200 patients infected with COVID-19 in this hospital.

Now, around 160 coronavirus beds are ready in the Klaipeda region.

Other illnesses must also be treated.

According to Ž.Gedrimaitė, mass vaccination, active testing, warmer air, and more active human activities outdoors, rather than indoors, are expected to help prevent such a rapid spread of the coronavirus as observed in the fall.

Somewhat alarmingly, COVID-19 strains have been identified in four hospitalized patients.

S.Tvirbutas expressed the hope that the vaccination rate will not allow further restriction of other medical services, the need of which is also very high.

Therefore, he noted that the benefits of vaccines at LSMU Kaunas Hospital are clearly visible: out of every 3 thousand. workers are sick people, when in December this number had already reached about 300 patients at the same time.

“Now, although morbidity is growing in society, it is not in the hospital, we have isolated diseases. The body was infected with coronavirus by about 800 employees, more than 2,000. they have been vaccinated, ”said S.Tvirbutas.

Too much burden for Vilnius

According to I. Šimonytė, although the situation in Vilnius is very tense, in other regions the employment rates of hospitals are better, so we should first talk about organizational measures to redistribute the workload.

“The situation is not unequivocal: according to the statistics of occupied beds in Vilnius, especially in the resuscitation and intensive care units, it is very tense. The same cannot be said for other regions.

Therefore, it is obvious that, in the first place, organizational measures are being evaluated to reduce tension in the Vilnius region in particular, ”commented the Prime Minister. 15 minutes given to your media rep by Rasa Jakilaitienė.

According to I.Šimonytė, at the end of last year the situation was tense in all regions, because many doctors, nurses and their assistants had COVID-19 themselves or were in self-isolation.

“Currently, all doctors who want it are fully vaccinated, and in that sense the situation is different, and bed occupancy is significant in some regions, but not in all of Lithuania.

However, hospital employment, especially in the intensive care unit and the intensive care unit, is and will be an important factor in the discussion of any further changes to the quarantine regulations, ”he noted.

A total of 1.3 thousand patients are currently treated in hospitals. COVID-19 patients, 139 of whom were in resuscitation.

In addition, 1101 patients are administered oxygen and 75 patients receive artificial lung ventilation.

88 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 per day.

Back in Zone D

Lithuania, according to coronavirus indicators, again in zone “D”.

According to data from the Department of Statistics, the number of new cases in 14 days per 100 thousand. population is 538.7.

According to morbidity indicators, the east-west of Lithuania, the Vilnius region and the Kaunas city municipality also appear to fall into the “black” zone, the worst zone.

On the other hand, vaccination rates are increasing.

According to the Statistics Department on Monday, the first dose of the vaccine was 22.59 percent. population, in both doses – 8.84%. people.

The proportion of potentially immune individuals is almost 30%. populations.

Record Comirnaty (Pfizer) arrives in Lithuania on Monday shipment of vaccines, the total number of vaccines received exceeded one million.