The number of Covid patients hospitalized in critical care is “relatively stable” and the consequences for the hospital of the 5th wave, “if it should occur”, are not expected before “the end of December or January”, indicated on Monday AP-HP boss Martin Hirsch. “The number of hospitalized patients is not increasing too quickly,” assured France Inter the director general of Public Assistance-Hospitals of Paris. “For critical care, it has been relatively stable for 15 days. It is believed that the sharp increase, if it is to occur, would rather occur at the end of December or January than now”.
13% of beds closed at AP-HP
“The hospital is in a difficult situation. Today, it’s not Covid patients”, he detailed, citing the flu or seasonal childhood illnesses such as bronchiolitis. “Predictions are extremely difficult to make today.” “In Ile-de-France, there are just under 300 patients in critical care, including a third at the AP-HP, and there are just under 600 hospitalized patients outside critical care. The patient rate Covid in intensive care beds is about a quarter,” he added.
The boss of the AP-HP also indicated that a thousand positions out of around 18,000 were not currently filled at the AP-HP. “It weighs, not only on the operations, he assured. Because of this lack of nurses, we have roughly 13% of our beds closed at the AP-HP. We do not take 13% of less patients but 4 or 5% in hospitalization. On the other hand, in day hospital we take 5% more patients.”
The fifth wave is coming
“We treat about as many patients with a little less staff and with a certain number of beds closed. Which partly explains the tensions. obviously”, warned the head of the AP-HP.
The 5th wave is starting “in a dazzling fashion”, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Sunday. On average calculated over seven days, the number of daily cases almost doubled in a week: it was 18,189, against 10,023 seven days earlier. This represents an increase of 81.4%. On Sunday, 8,038 Covid-19 patients were hospitalized in France, including 1,339 in critical care services (the most serious cases), compared to 6,500 and 1,000 respectively a month earlier.