- Hospitals like the one in Torrejon tripled the number of patients attended by the UHD and Torrevieja doubles it in order to care for milder COVID patients at home and protect the rest of the pandemic
- The group has taken charge of transporting the pharmacological treatments dispensed to chronic patients.
- All the hospitals have provided medical and assistance support to more than 2.800 users of the residences in their areas.
- Daily visits and controls to the most fragile citizens, telephone monitoring, telemedicine through the YoSalud portal and app and the increase in the workforce, keys to the success of these services in March
The hospitals of Ribera Health The number of patients cared for by the Home Hospitalization Units (UHD) increased by 55% on average during the month of March. Among these patients are the less serious cases of COVID19 but also many others with chronic diseases or health problems that have arisen during the pandemic and who have been protected from the virus with home care.
Centers like the Torrejón University Hospital They have tripled the number of daily patients seen by health professionals, with up to 150 visits in one day, which has meant an increase in the activity of the UHD of 65%. The increase in the number of patients attended by the UHD of the Torrevieja University Hospital, which is around 50%. A total of 197 people have been cared for by the professionals in this unit in just a month and a half, of which 51 are still in home hospitalization.
The goal of all hospitals in Ribera Health It has always been to guarantee the best health care to citizens, also during the State of Alarm, and to protect those who were not affected by COVID19 from possible infections, assisting them with all available resources but at home. And also in nursing homes. All Ribera Salud hospitals have collaborated with the residences in their areas of influence and health departments, providing care support to more than 2.800 elderly people.
The group has also taken charge of transporting the pharmacological treatments dispensed to chronic patients.
The keys to the success of the increase in the activity of these Home Hospitalization Units during the hardest weeks of the pandemic have been the daily visits and controls of the professionals to the most fragile patients, the telephone monitoring of the evolution of each one of them , the use of telemedicine through the YoSalud portal and mobile application, and the increase in human resources assigned to these units.
As explained by the head of service of the UHD of the Torrejón University Hospital, Manuel Miron, "some patients have not wanted to come to the hospital to receive certain treatments, mainly those that are carried out in the day hospital and we have cared for and treated these patients at home". In some cases, he explains, "we even leave our geographic area to administer treatments." Also, he adds, some tests have been carried out at home to prevent patients with recent coronavirus infection from entering the hospital and thus minimize the risk of transmission.
When the health crisis began, substantial changes were undertaken in these units of the hospitals in Ribera Health. "From the beginning, the management of all the centers opted for interventions in the homes so as not to compromise the safety of the patients and alleviate the pressure of care in the centers.”, assures Dr. Mirón. And for this it has been necessary to increase the capacity of these home admissions and, as a consequence, assign more professionals: the staff has increased but doctors and nursing personnel from other specialties have also been assigned.
In the case of TorrejonFor example, Dr. Mirón explains that "surgeons have given support to the UHD by reviewing surgical patients and visiting them at home two days a week." Specifically, he adds, "we have received the help of emergency assistants to assess cases of this service that could be treated at home without prior admission." As for the residences in Torrejón, the head of their HDU, Dr. Mirón, has indicated that "aware of the difficulties they were going through, we went on our own initiative, with the support of the Directorate, to find out in situ their needs and Together with the Internal Medicine Service, we established a circuit to guarantee that the necessary medication for the coronavirus would reach all of them, as well as all kinds of therapeutic resources such as antipyretics, fluid therapy and medication for palliative care, thanks to the involvement of the Pharmacy Service” . “In a second phase, which is the one we are currently working on, We have carried out a face-to-face evaluation of their circuits, areas and isolation measures and material needs to continue helping them and providing the necessary health care to all the elderly", has added.
As regards the Torrevieja University Hospital, from its UHD, all patients treated have been guaranteed the supply of medication, hospital treatment and complementary tests at their homes, whenever possible. In addition, coordination with Primary Care and the Palliative Patient Follow-up Program has been strengthened, to avoid, as far as possible, the displacement of patients to the hospital.
In the case of the Inmaculada residence, located in the Alicante municipality of Torrevieja, Ribera Salud offered to manage this center provisionally, due to the medical leave and quarantine of the manager and a significant part of the staff. The health group has put one of the department's Primary Care coordinators in charge of it and has intensified security protocols, even going so far as to assume catering for all residents. "Now the meals are brought from the hospital, they are served in the rooms of the elderly and they eat with disposable utensils to guarantee their safety and well-being as much as possible," explains the manager of the hospital. Torrevieja Hospital. In addition, the Human Resources department of this center has helped this residence in the selection of 18 assistants to cover the quarantine losses that they have suffered in recent weeks. "We are working hand in hand with the staff of the Immaculate residence," they say.
