Kyrgyzstan again faces the growth in coronavirus cases. 61 hospitals have been opened all over the republic for coronavirus patients. The majority of them have been opened in the south of the country.
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Osh region and Bishkek are leaders by the number of open hospitals, whereas Chui and Dzhalal Abad regions have the equal number of specialised healthcare facilities, while the latter has more bed capacity.
Bishkek hospitals are highly occupied – as of today, only 11.3 per cent of the total bed capacity is available there.
If we count the data on facility occupation rate provided by the Republican headquarters, today they treat 2,526 Kyrgyzstanis. Thus, the hospitals opened for Covid-19 patients are already occupied by 62.7 per cent. However, according to latest update from the headquarters, 3,347 patients are registered as patients treated in hospitals. It this is true, the number of free beds is less in reality.
However, the most important thing, according to experts, is not the availability of hospitals, but their equipment and medical staff who must treat patients. And this is what the country lacks.
According to evidence-based medicine expert Bermet Baryktabasova, much depends on the hospital capacity to treat critically severe patients. If we speak about an ICU patient, one physician must have 2-3 ICU patients, according to international standards, and there should be three nurses per one physician.«We had situations when one physician treated 10-30 ICU patients at a time, that was a calamity. It was at hospitals opened in Vorontsovka and Gansi. Afterwards, they employed medical staff, but ICUs are often overloaded,» Baryktabasova said to CABAR.asia.
Now, according to the headquarters, one physician has almost eight Covid-19 patients, on average, and one nurse has five cases all over the republic. As to the equipment, the situation is more or less normal with oxygen concentrators, hospitals have 3,329 devices, but lung ventilators are in deficiency. Six hospital patients use one lung ventilator, on average.
Among regions, Bishkek, Batken and Talas regions have a shortage of medical staff. The capital city also has a shortage of lung ventilators – 13 patients per one lung ventilator, followed by Dzhalal Abad region with 7 patients per one lung ventilator.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), nearly 80 per cent of Covid-19 patients recover without needing special treatment. However, some people develop difficulty in breathing and require lung ventilators.
According to the Republican headquarters, as of November 11, Kyrgyzstan has 948 severely ill and 158 critically ill coronavirus patients. All of them require lung ventilators. 1,106 lung ventilators are needed to save their lives, whereas the country has only 381.
«Lung ventilators are sufficient for the time being. Here’s another question, where is the aid that was received by hospitals in August, namely, medical equipment, PPEs and money? Where and how was it distributed? The website map.covid.kg must show locations and the amount of help received by hospitals,» Baryktabasova said.
According to her, it would let public supervision and rational use thereof. But today the information is fragmented and some hospitals do not provide daily updates. Therefore, so far we cannot track down what hospitals to refer to, what supplies they have or where they disappeared.
Also, she noted that the shortage of beds in hospitals that was experienced in July was related to the fact that 60-70 per cent of them were filled with the asymptomatic patients and the patients with mild and moderate symptoms of Covid-19. They spent the majority of hospital resources, while severe patients were left without treatment.«They did not have enough treatment. As a rule, 80 per cent of all identified Covid-19 cases are either asymptomatic, or mild and moderate. Such patients should receive outpatient care. The remaining 10-20 per cent of severe patients should be hospitalised, including 1 per cent of patients who are critically ill. Now, the hospitals are fighting for their lives,» the expert said.
Main photo: Reuters