Lithuanian health care institutions are being filled by patients of the Covid-19 disease, forcing hospitals to free the beds intended for other patients and limiting other medical services, Lithuanian public broadcaster and journalist Modesta Gaučaitė-Znutienė report.
In the Vilnius region, there are currently 507 hospitalised Covid patients, including 10 children and 48 intensive care unit (ICU) cases. This means that 86 percent of regular Covid beds and 76 percent of ICU beds have been already occupied. In Vilnius Santara Clinics, which treat serious and critical Covid cases, almost all Covid beds are taken. It is adding 30 extra beds to the existing 91.
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«By adding these beds, we are forced to reduce the number of places allocated to patients with diseases other than Covid-19,» said Jolita Jakutienė, operations director at Santara Clinics.
Hospitals in other Lithuanian regions are also nearing their Covid capacity. In Elektrėnai and Molėtai hospitals, all Covid beds, 40 and 20 respectively, are already full. In Kaunas, around 150 Covid patients are currently treated in Kaunas Clinics. If the epidemiological situation keeps worsening, other services will be suspended to accommodate all those infected with coronavirus, informed Saulius Tvirbutas, a spokesperson of the Kaunas Clinics.
The article originally appeared on LRT English: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1519926/lithuanian-hospitals-quickly-approaching-covid-capacity
Covid beds in Lithuanian hospitals nearing full load amid surge in new infections
