The General of Alicante and the one of Sant Joan reopen the plants closed to be able to absorb the increase of patients and the General of Elche is to the limit of its capacity
As the number of cases of flu increase in the province of Alicante many hospitals are beginning to see a large upsurge in their workload. In the city of Alicante the two hospitals have re-opened wards that were previously closed in order to absorb the large number of additional patients they are currently admitting whilst the Elda Hospital is full to capacity with patients suffering from influenza and other respiratory conditions. The main hospital in Elche is also at the limit of its capacity.
At the Alicante General Hospital, a previously closed overflow ward was opened to cater for the additional admissions. The ward is now being specifically used for those with the flu virus according to the CC OO, UGT and Sate unions as it enables patients to be kept in isolation. The CC OO said that 25 beds are still available in the ward which will be filled as the cases continue to increase.
In the emergency department the union say that there is a lot of additional work, “although the nursing and medical staff are coping with it very well.”
At the Sant Joan Hospital, a third ward has also been opened, which would usually remain closed during the remainder of the year, the unions confirmed on Monday. The Emergency Department, they say is under greater pressure than is the case at the General Hospital, as the centre is responsible for the patients at numerous local nursing homes that operate in the area of Vistahermosa and Sant Joan. Many of the elderly in the homes are currently suffering from an assortment of respiratory problems due to cold, something that is very common with the elderly.
This particular ward has a capacity for 13 patients although the unions all say that it fails to provide adequate conditions, as patients and their families must share the same toilet and the beds are separated only by curtains.
In the case of the Elche the General Hospital is working at the limit of its capacity due to the increased number of cases. Pulmonology wards in this hospital are full to capacity while in the Vinalopó Hospital the staff say that they expect the numbers to peak at the end of the month. However, the hospital says that in recent weeks it has recorded an increase in the number of patients who arrive at ER with fever and respiratory problems.
Elda
The University Hospital in Elda registered its largest number of admissions over the last 12 months on Monday. In total 400 available beds were filled and both staff and ER was completely overwhelmed for most of the day. At one point there were 45 patients waiting in corridors for allocation to a ward.
The measures implemented by the hospital management during the early afternoon, in bringing in additional staff and finding extra beds, saw some relief to the load reducing it to just to 28 beds in the corridors. By the end of the afternoon there were just with the situation returning to normality. The corridors had been cleared and all the patients assigned to a ward. But with the hospital full to capacity, staff said that they were expecting further problems during the course of the week.
