The spread of the B.1.1.7 mutation has helped to push England into a lockdown
For weeks, he said, those coming through the hospital’s emergency room doors have often admitted to attending Thanksgiving celebrations with large groups of family and friends. Over the last few days, he said, the number admitting to such gatherings has decreased.
Now, he said, everyone on the front lines is praying that Christmas doesn’t follow the same pattern. The system, they warn, simply does not have enough trained workers left to handle yet another holiday spike. Just getting through the current one, Tovar said, has required a certain kind of battlefield mentality.
National Guard personnel descended on Palomar Medical Center Escondido Wednesday as the state announced activation of the 202-bed medical station installed on several floors of the facility back in April.
A spokesperson with the California Office of Emergency Services indicated that a “buildout” on “unused floors” of the 11-story hospital but did not specify why anything needed to be constructed given that hundreds of cots and other supplies have been in place and maintained in what the state calls a “warm status” since the spring.
With the number of staffed and immediately available intensive care beds dwindling in all San Diego County hospitals, and officials saying they are now converting dormant clinical areas for active use, an extra 200 beds would seem to be just what’s needed, a pressure-relief valve for the most strained locations in the South Bay and East County.
Nobody really wanted to talk about it Monday, but with hospitalizations projected to hit 100,000 statewide by the end of the month, leaders reluctantly acknowledged Monday that they are ready to begin rationing care if necessary.
Asked during a news conference whether plans were in place for the day when all capacity is used up and no more surge maneuvers are possible, Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of health and human services for California, noted that the state published “crisis care guidelines” in June.
They lay out in significant detail how every hospital in the state should go about deciding who lives and who dies in situations where resources can no longer meet demand.
By JA
Dec 16, 2020
Area hospitals are not only reaching bed capacity, sufficient staffing is also an issue. On Tuesday San Diego County reported another 1,863 COVID-19 cases, 32 deaths from the virus and hospitalizations for the virus reached a record high of 1,033 (up 231% in the last 30 days).
As San Diego hospitals cope with the demand of the virus and other medical emergencies, staff and resources are stretched thin. On Tuesday some area hospitals were forced to turn away ambulances and people seeking emergency medical care. Paramedics waited hours (some 5-7 hours) before they could deliver patients, which required San Diego County ambulance services to change procedures.