By: V4 Agency
The pandemic situation is becoming increasingly alarming in and around the Paris. As the hospitals are full and there is a dangerous shortage of ICU beds, health authorities have called on hospitals to reschedule a large number of their planned surgeries.
The pandemic situation in France is becoming increasingly alarming, even critical, in some areas. Hospitals are full and unable to accept new patients. In Paris and the Île-de-France region surrounding the capital, the situation is so dismal that regional health authorities (ARS) have called on hospitals and clinics, including private institutions, to reschedule 40 per cent of surgeries and other surgical interventions to free up staff to care for coronavirus patients. According to Le Parisien, this method is not unheard of in hospitals around the capital but, in stark contrast to just 10 per cent of the surgeries that had to be rescheduled because of the virus – the latest figures are much higher.
According to information obtained by Le Figaro, the above instruction was issued by Aurelien Rousseau (Director-General of Ile-de-France Regional Health Authority) to hospitals and clinics in and around Paris, because the situation has become critical. Currently 973 patients are treated in ICUs, where less than 1,050 intensive beds are available. The goal is to increase the number of intensive care beds to 1577, as the number of patients in need of intensive care continues to rise in the affected area, Aurelien Rousseau explained.
Quick rescheduling is needed not only to free up beds but also to facilitate the transfer of hospital staff. This way, anesthesiologists and qualified nurses involved in surgeries can be reassigned to provide adequate care to ICU patients. Increased hospital capacities are indeed necessary, as 21,825 new cases have been registered in the last 24 hours, with 187 patients connected to ventillators, the latest figures suggest.