2023-11-25 04:04:55
24/11/2023
Medellín’s health emergency network is 98.7% full as December arrives, the most complex season of the year due to the increase in accidents, poisonings and people burned, both by gunpowder and hot liquids. .
The alert, according to data from the District Personnel Health Observatory, indicated yesterday that of the 3,223 beds in 44 healthcare centers arranged to attend to the most priority situations, 3,183 were occupied.
The San Vicente Fundación Hospital, at its headquarters in Medellín, for example, has the emergency service at 256% occupancy.
The panorama in the hospitalization service is also critical. Of the 721 beds installed in the city, there are 788 occupied, that is, hospitals have had to make efforts and adjustments to avoid leaving their patients without a place to recover.
Other centers are in crisis, such as the General Hospital, where, as it became known last week, they are already asking for financial help to be able to continue operating, at least efficiently.
A patient and her companion were told when they arrived at the emergency room: “We are trying to care for everyone, but the wait might be up to 35 hours.”
The effects
Given this panorama, the first thing that the authorities ask is that people take greater prevention during this holiday season, mainly with the use of gunpowder, because these are foreseeable situations.
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“If we know that there is a collapse in health services, which has occurred throughout the year, and that we have some events that are preventable, that would be one more reason to avoid using and not having to attend a healthcare center during these seasons due to events that are avoidable,” said Rita Almanza Payares, the leader of the Epidemiology Unit of the Medellín Health Secretariat.
However, this does not mean that if a person arrives with an injury caused by gunpowder or some other health condition, they will not receive care.
The official stated that, in the midst of this complex panorama, attention is provided to all cases, although there may be inconveniences when continuing with the service, because due to the short availability, priority must be given to patients. more urgent.
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“People can rest assured because the cases are being attended to. What can happen is that at a certain time, following classification or triage, they tell you that you must wait a certain time,” Almanza said.
Furthermore, if applicable, it would be necessary that if hospitalization or a procedure is required, referrals to other healthcare centers should be resorted to, even in other municipalities, a situation that has always been contemplated and has even been used, but that now It becomes more feasible if cases of health problems inherent to the holiday season increase.
Last year there were 33 people injured by gunpowder in Medellín, of which seven were minors and the balance, depending on sex, was two men burned for every woman.
The authorities launched a prevention campaign to reduce the number of burns, not only to avoid family tragedies in December, but also to ensure that hospital capacity does not overwhelm. “If it is an emergency that is out of my hands, the hospital system is very prepared to provide any care, but if it is a preventable event, it must be a cause or motivation to prevent it from occurring, because we do not want injured people, much less standing in line at an emergency room,” Almanza concluded.
So there is no choice but to take maximum care of yourself during this time and avoid gunpowder.
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