Graciliano Estrada, director of the pulmonary department of the General Hospital, warned that the flu in the province of Segovia has reached epidemic proportions. The president of the official College of Physicians has drawn attention to the “complex situation” caused by the increase in registered cases in recent weeks. These difficulties are reflected in an already overstretched health care system. This is not only due to the expansion of influenza viruses, which are the most prevalent and dominant. Since mid-December, the incidence of respiratory diseases such as COVID-19 and bronchiolitis has increased. It’s called “triademia,” and in primary care centers across Spain, the disease has spread to a threshold of one thousand infections per 100,000 inhabitants.
Health centers and clinics are the first places to receive a large number of cases and, therefore, are the first to be affected by the wave of saturation of the functioning and normal functioning of first-level care. Late last year, cumulative delays in issuing summonses exceeded two weeks in some centers in some essential areas of the province, according to complaints from affected El Espinal residents.
In Vegas de Matute, virality combined with the exercise of leave rights and the retirement of doctors led to a domino effect that occurred when flaws aligned: other colleagues had to take on their own responsibilities. Too many of those missing patients resulted in delays in consultation dates and times.
The capital of Segovia is not immune to these problems. In the last week of last year, citizens trying to schedule an appointment with their family doctor were forced to wait between seven and ten days, including the holidays on the Christmas calendar, as can be seen from Sacyl Conecta applications. , which schedules appointments for the first week of January.
«The extent is epidemic. Incidence increased by 30% in the past 15 days »
Graciliano Estrada
Director of the Pulmonary Department, General Hospital of Segovia
When elementary schools were overwhelmed, first emergency care at extended care sites, then general hospital emergencies, then fueled by the pandemic. Miriam Rubio, president of the Satse nursing union in Segovia, agrees with the diagnosis of the director of the official college of physicians: “Due to the presence of respiratory diseases, the pressure on nursing has increased significantly.” The provincial representative of the professional organization warned that hospital complexes, health centers and nursing home societies Nursing staff in the health sector are experiencing “increased workloads”.
Panorama requires “working more hours than usual to strengthen or make up for losses that have also occurred among colleagues.” This means that workers are “tired.” Miriam Rubio noted that even “vacation days that had been given were being canceled” in an attempt to provide appropriate health coverage for patients’ needs. For example, the emergency service center at the General Hospital of Segovia “handles on average more than 200 cases per day,” said the head of Segovia Satse.
The next cards to drop are consultations with experts and hospital occupancy. The president of Doctors of Segovia, Graciliano Estrada, reiterated that the current wave of respiratory infections has triggered cases, so that the incidence has increased by around 30% in 15 days.
“Staff must be adequately compensated for overwork”
Miriam Rubio
President of the Satse nursing union in Segovia
The domino effect continues. The impact of the outbreak is also being felt on the floors of the province’s only reference hospital complex, as admissions of patients requiring clinical monitoring have also increased. Estrada stressed that in addition to emergency departments, pulmonary, internal medicine and even palliative care units (ICUs) are also “very stressed” due to the increasing pressure on care. Respiratory infections can lead to “chronic disease decompensation, such as severe pneumonia,” bringing to mind those battling the coronavirus pandemic. “There are a large number of beds in the hospital,” said the director of pulmonology, who confirmed that influenza was the “main virus.”
Sartre claimed that the “overwork” suffered by nursing “must be fully compensated.” Rubio added that the work saturation experienced by the workers he represents due to the spread of influenza, COVID-19 and bronchiolitis (the “triple trilogy”) is not an isolated phenomenon. Remember, the province’s “nurse shortage must be alleviated.” The president of Segovia Satse insisted that “the staff showed us their deep fatigue” when asking for more nursing staff.
Miriam Rubio criticized: “It is urgent and a priority that healthcare administrations have management and organization that is appropriate to the actual needs of the level of care, rather than ad hoc.”