Given this situation, the Government of Díaz Ayuso has announced the creation of a single command that will assume the Ministry of Health and a shock plan that includes the transfer of the elderly without pathologies.
A total of 1,065 elderly people have died in nursing homes in the Community of Madrid during March, although not all these deaths “cannot be attributed to the coronavirus because of a lack of tests to detect the disease,” according to family members and the Ministry of Social Policy.
The data has been produced by the inspectors of the Centre for Quality Control and Inspection (CIRA) in the 475 residences in the Community of Madrid, in which a total of 52,031 elderly people currently reside.
Of the 1,065 people who died, 760 died in nursing homes and 305 following their transferred to hospital. In addition, 655 elderly have tested positive for coronavirus so far in March, 388 are hospitalized and 14,894 in isolation, of which 4,156 have symptoms and 10,738 are currently without.
Sources in the Ministry add that 460 people died in indirectly managed residences in the Community of Madrid, which number around 200, so that “by extrapolation” the total number of deaths in all types of centres would be approximately 900 people.
The regional government has asked the Ministry of Health “to send all the necessary material to continue caring for these people” which, according to the estimates of the Community of Madrid, are 185,000 masks and 930,000 other items of PPE such as gloves and aprons.
In addition, it has demanded the incorporation of 100 additional medical staff “to adequately serve” the people in the residences and guarantee the arrival of rapid tests at the centres “in order to detect and stop infections in time.”
Single command under Health control
In addition, the Community of Madrid has announced that all nursing homes are now put under direct control of the Ministry of Health, with the collaboration of Fire and Civil Protection.
Other action includes the transfer of patients without and form of illness and who are not infected, to nearby hotels or, depending on the wishes of family members, to their home address. Those responsible for the Ministry of Social Policies will contact family members to select the preferred option in each case.
The Plan supposes a single sanitary command that will be assumed by the Ministry of Health, in coordination with that of Social Policies and Justice, Interior and Victims.
