The year 2020 proves to be a historical year in unprecedented ways due to the new strain of SARS-CoV-2 known as COVID-19 or the coronavirus. And as health care workers continue to fight this disease on a daily basis (at least until a vaccine is created), a steady number of COVID-19 patients keep on coming in. So to prevent medical facilities from being overwhelmed by admissions, local governments and health care officials are recommended to install medical tents and inflatable field hospitals to prepare for the new wave of coronavirus patients.
But how to assess the kind of field hospital that you need for treatment of COVID-19? If you’re interested to know more, then we suggest you continue reading as we are going to tackle more about this topic in today’s post.
While makeshift facilities like a field hospital have a unique function in terms of the pandemic situation it being utilized (in this case, the COVID-19 health emergency), every government official or hospital leader should ask these questions in order to set up a temporary medical bay that can effectively treat patients with COVID-19:
What kind of patients that will be admitted to the mobile medical center?
While it’s already a given that the use of the temporary hospital is for COVID-19 patients, you also have to consider the kind of people who are going to be admitted. According to WHO, there are 2 kinds of COVID-19 patients: those who are asymptomatic and those who show symptoms of the virus, which are often considered as serious cases.
To be specific, asymptomatic coronavirus patients only need minimal treatment like placing themselves on quarantine while symptomatic individuals require a more intensive kind of medical care.
Moreover, you also have to consider new developments in relation to the coronavirus as it was recently discovered that those who have type A blood are at higher risk of getting infected by the virus. So there might be a possibility that they need to be admitted to a separate medical tent.
How will the temporary medical shelter impact staffing at your hospital?
Without a doubt, staffing has become a major concern in most hospitals that are dealing with COVID-19 cases. So in order to avoid work fatigue and maintain quality health care, you need to offer alternative staffing options, hiring new health care employees (if possible), or by approaching non-government organizations that provide volunteers for medical emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Also, you have to maintain strong communication with your medical supervisors and make the necessary arrangements to accommodate the need to continue providing optimal health care within a temporary shelter setting.
Do you anticipate the need for additional capacity?
And since a field hospital takes some time to set up, you should also consider the need for additional capacity based on the influx of incoming patients. This is necessary as the projected time for developing a coronavirus vaccine will take at least 1 year. So it better to prepare for the so-called ‘2nd wave’ than not being able to take care of COVID-19 patients efficiently.
