Six months after a State of Emergency (SoE) was declared to reduce COVID-19 infections and death, the Parallel Healthcare System is struggling, as hospital occupancy mirrors May figures.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Health reported 473 COVID-19 patients in hospital and a worrying 781 new infections. From this morning, police do not have the right to enter private premises while people can roam the streets later than 10 pm.
Appearing at the Ministry of Health COVID-19 briefing Wednesday, Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh said a greater responsibility for reducing transmission now lies with the population.
He presented data showing that around the start of the SoE on May 15, there was a peak of 472 patients in the system, followed by a decrease.
Around July 10, there was an average occupancy rate of 40 per cent, and cases eventually dropped to 318.
Deyalsingh said this was manageable. The system maintained this rate for the next 113 days until September 29, when data suggested a possible increase.
Deyalsingh recalled that on September 29, the ministry told the population that it observed a data point of a slight increase. “We advised the country on September 29 that we are hoping that it is not going to be a trend, that we can continue with the plateau. However, 59 days have passed, and today, we are at 473 people in the Public Healthcare System. In other words, we are back to where we were in May,” Deyalsingh said. While the ministry did not report an upward trend on September 29, it asked the population to accept COVID-19 vaccines and adhere to the public health guidelines of frequent hand washing, mask-wearing and social distancing.
From October 14, cases and hospitalisation began to increase.“It is something that we had advised the population to work with us. However, the figures represent a place that we did not want to be, but we are there.” Deyalsingh said the Government could not continue to stifle the economy with restrictions.
He said a lot of responsibility now rests with the population. He not only asks them to get vaccinated, but he also wants those who took the vaccine to encourage their family, friends and colleagues to do the same.With a daily vaccination average of 1200 per day, Deyalsingh said the country must resort to the public health guidelines.
In March, there was a daily average of three new infections. Back then, vaccines were not available to the general population.
He said the country achieved this by adhering to the guidelines. But with the Tobago House of Assembly election campaign in swing and the incoming Christmas season, he says there is a concern. As it stands, there are times when doctors have to respond to patients crashing or collapsing in emergency rooms across the country every 15 minutes.
Dr Abdul Hamid, General Manager of Primary Healthcare at the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA), said patients were presenting to emergency rooms sicker than before over the past few weeks. “Literally deteriorating in minutes. These scenes are playing out across our country. Previously, the majority of patients presenting were mild to moderate illnesses. Now critically ill patients are presenting, requiring immediate intervention such as intubation in addition to trauma and other medical emergencies,” Hamid said. The common theme was that most Intensive Care Unit and High Dependency Unit patients were unvaccinated. He said the NCRHA continues to notice people refusing ambulance transfers to emergency rooms and the parallel health care system despite being very ill and requiring hospital care.
Within two to three days, these same people often develop severe to critical illnesses.Deyalsingh said three people who died this week only presented to hospitals on the third visit of ambulances.
By that time, it was too late for them. He said coming into the system early allow people ward level care, giving them a better chance of going home for Christmas rather than presenting to an emergency room and going directly into an ICU with a lesser chance of survival.