Tragic record of intensive care hospital patients

The number of people admitted to the hospital in two weeks has practically tripled, now to close to 3,000 cases in Quebec, evidence that the epidemic is hitting hard this month.

Read more: Quebec adds 45 deaths to its death toll

Read more: Omigron: Montreal cases and hospitals have reached the peak

Read more: Omigron: FMSQ says we need to start treatment again and bring back staff despite the risks

Yesterday, 2,994 Govt-19 patients were admitted to hospital in Quebec. This is almost three times more than they occupied 1,063 beds at the end of December, according to the National Institutes of Health in Quebec (INSPQ).

In intensive care, yesterday 272 patients were in one bed due to COVID-19. This is the record since the onset of the epidemic.

In addition, more than twice as many people have been hospitalized with COVID-19 than there were 1,525 exactly a year ago.

Hard month

“January is tough. The combination of omigran, with sub-optimal vaccine coverage, means that we end up with a very high number of cases, ”said Dr.^R. Carl Weiss is a microbiologist-epidemiologist at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal.

According to INSPQ, the data that will be added to the hospital over the next few days will “provide a better understanding of the course of the infection”, but may be on track to peak.

“We are about to go to the summit, the peak is too high,” Prime Minister Franசois Legold said yesterday. The number of hospital admissions is likely to increase in the coming days. ”

Currently, 14,122 of the 16,100 beds are occupied in Quebec, according to the Ministry of Health. The National Institute for Health and Social Services no longer makes predictions about hospital admissions because the number of positive cases is unreliable.

However, access to hospitals is currently the “number one public health problem,” said National Director of Public Health Dr.^R. Luc Boileau.

Although many patients who are hospitalized positive for COVID-19 are not very ill, the isolation protocol for treating them requires more staff. In addition, about 15,000 network employees are out of work due to the Corona virus.

People are at risk of death

Outcome: Hundreds of patients per week are desperate to see surgery postponed due to lack of beds.

“This system is in the process of liberating everything, we can not continue this forever, D believes^R. Weiss. Since there are people who die without surgery or cancer treatment, you need to know how to calculate the risks. ”

Many doctors have called for the rules to be relaxed for affected workers.

“These rules for zero risk, we can no longer manage it, D believes^R. Gilbert Boucher, President of the Emergency Medical Specialists Association of Quebec. Better a poor horse than no horse at all. “

January 13, 2021

• 1525 Hospitals
• 230 Intensive treatment

12 May 2020

• 1866 Hospitals
• 194 In intensive care

^{Source INSPQ}

No ICU treatment yet

Although the health network is close to the “irreversible point”, the use of the intensive care priority protocol is not currently being considered.

“In this wave, intensive care rises much lower than other waves, where I was most concerned,” replied Mary-Ave Boutilier, who led the work of the protocol for the Ministry of Health and Services. Social (MSSS).

“But, without warning, I could not fully feel my head above the water. There is danger,” she said cautiously.

Recently updated, the priority protocol will be launched with the aim of reaching more than 200% capacity of intensive care beds.

This will be a guide for caregivers in choosing who is eligible for treatment.

Many stages are planned according to the scenarios, but those with an 80% chance of dying are not given priority. Note that this protocol was never launched in Quebec.

Appropriate care

“Those who do not receive intensive treatment will not be abandoned; They will continue to receive other care, more relevant to their situation and possible in the environment, ”the Ministry of Health and Social Services wrote in an email.

“We’re tense, it requires a lot of organization, but we’re not at the level of the first wave,” D analyzes.^R. François Marquis, Intensive Care Physician at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital.

The point of no return?

Last Tuesday, Health Minister Christian Dupe noted that the network was approaching “irreversible status”. In this case, Newspaper Further details on what the “no going back” action means could not be obtained from the minister’s office.

All the doctors interviewed had no idea about the indicators that qualify for this breaking point.

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