The Minister of Health has sent a message of calm in repeating that the network of hospitals in the Valencian Community has the capacity to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
“It is necessary to convey a message of calm, we have capacity,” she said on Friday at a press conference when asked by journalists about the possible saturation of the Valencian health system. The Minister of Health, Ana Barceló, said that in the Valencian Community there are currently 3,255 free beds in public hospitals.
She said that she cannot speak of individual hospitals but of the network as a whole where the hospitals are well prepared. When asked about the situation by specific towns and provinces, she said that the Valencian Community is one: “We are all in this together and the healthcare resources are available to the entire network.”
The minister also said that there are sufficient ambulances. On the delays that are occurring with the transfer of patients, she said that time is wasted in disinfecting the ambulance every time it is used by a patient who has tested positive test for coronavirus: “But we have to put patient safety first and that is why delays can sometimes occur.”
Currently, of the 3,500 patients in the community who are infected, there are 1,422 people admitted to Valencian hospitals: 840 in Valencia of which 140 are in ICU; 413 in Alicante where there are 81 in the ICU; and 169 in Castellón, with 31 in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit).
The Minister explained that the Valencian Community currently has 3,255 free beds: 730 in the province of Castellón, 1,286 in the province of Alicante and 1,239 in the province of Valencia. These free beds correspond to our public hospitals. To that we can also add the beds available in private hospitals should we need to do so.
Field hospitals in Valencia, Castellón and Alicante
It should also be noted that Health is currently building three field hospitals, one in each provincial capital. In this sense, Barceló recalled that work is being done “at a forced pace” so that the work is completed as quickly as possible: “The modules will begin to be assembled from April 1 in Valencia and from April 3 in Alicante and Castellón ”.
The Consellera has also said that it is not necessary that all the beds are assembled to start transferring patients straight away but that they will be incorporated depending on the needs.
The three field hospitals, which will be located next to reference hospitals in each of the three provincial capitals, will mean an increase of 1,100 new beds to the hospital system, which will be distributed: 500 in València, 400 in Alicante and 200 in Castellón.
