To prevent suspected coronavirus patients arriving by ambulance from being turned away by hospitals, the Tokyo Medical Association and the Tokyo Fire Department on Friday agreed that all emergency patients with symptoms such as fever and cough will be taken directly to hospitals with specialized outpatient clinics, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
Until now, emergency medical teams have had to search for nearby hospitals, and if they cannot find a place to transport patients suspected to have a coronavirus infection, local base hospitals have been making arrangements to accept them.
However, a number of hospitals have refused to accept patients with high fevers due to fears of in-hospital infection. In Tokyo, there were more than 900 cases in March in which people were turned away at more than five locations or
it took more than 20 minutes to determine where to send a patient, about 1.3 times more cases than in the same month last year.
Therefore, emergency patients suspected of having COVID-19 symptoms such as fever or a respiratory disorder will be admitted to specialized outpatient hospitals, for returnees from abroad or people who have had contact with infected people, or hospitals that can protect against infection. A viral test will immediately be performed to determine whether the patient is infected with the coronavirus before a new hospital is sought.
However, if the number of infected people continues to increase, it is possible that the number of patients will exceed the capacity of specialized outpatient hospitals. "Emergency measures are needed to eliminate a situation in which the destination of a patient is not decided for a long time," said Masataka Inokuchi, vice chairman of the Tokyo Medical Association.
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