The number of coronavirus
\ninfections is constantly on the rise in Romania. Underfunded for years, the
\nRomanian healthcare system is one of the least performing in Europe. Given this
\ngrim reality, many are sounding an alarm signal and criticising the authorities
\nfor their handling of the current health crisis. As the number of coronavirus cases
\nis growing, the number of available beds in hospitals is decreasing. And even where
\nmore beds are supplied, there is still not enough staff available. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Until not long ago in favour
\nof treating all coronavirus cases in hospital, including asymptomatic and mild
\ncases, healthcare officials are now changing the rules and want these latter types
\nof cases to be treated at home. This would free hospital beds for those with
\nserious forms of infection. Except that if some of the asymptomatic and mild
\ncases do at some point need intensive care treatment, there is a risk there won’t
\nbe a free bed for them. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Under the circumstances, the
\ndoctor and researcher Octavian Jurma told Radio Romania that the authorities
\nshould adopt a more proactive approach:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
We begin to take action
\nbased on the numbers we see, when we see them. If, for example, today we’re
\nhaving 5,000 new cases, the curve from two weeks ago would have indicated with
\nquite a lot of precision that we’d get to the point we are today. To keep up
\nwith the pandemic, we must act today as if what we expect to happen in two weeks’
\ntime has already happened. The measures taken as part of the red tier stage are
\ngood measures. The problem is that they are always behind the pace of the
\npandemic.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
As the authorities are focusing
\nentirely on managing the coronavirus outbreak, chronic patients are sounding a
\nstrong alarm signal: they too, have a right to medical care. The
\ntransformation, often overnight, of healthcare facilities such as Colentina
\nhospital in Bucharest into facilities that are only treating coronavirus
\npatients is limiting the access of chronic patients to treatment. The president
\nof the Alliance of Chronic Patients, Cezar Irimia:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
These patients feel
\nmarginalised, abandoned, ignored by the healthcare system and are being left to
\nfend for themselves. There’s no proper assignment of these patients to
\nhospitals and doctors.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
As for the solution, the
\npresident of the Coalition of Organisations of Patients with Chronic Disorders,
\nRadu G\u0103nescu:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The recommendations of the World Health Organisation
\nare clear: each hospital should treat both Covid and non-Covid patients. All
\nthey need is to be provided with the necessary equipment and testing kits.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chronic patients in Romania find it difficult to have access to treatment because of coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":86739,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[35339],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-86962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-coronavirus"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n