Panel SA: Private hospitals ask for a reduction in the time of absence of a health professional with Covid

Private hospitals have sent a request to the Ministry of Health to reduce the time of absence of professionals in the area who contract Covid, according to Antonio Britto, executive director of Anahp (which brings together the large institutions of the private network).

He says that hospitals are unfolding to meet the rush to emergency rooms in recent days, but the sector also faces the problem of reducing employees contaminated by Covid and Influenza.

“With all the guarantees given to health professionals, without taking any risk, this would reduce the impact a little”, says Britto.

According to him, the problem is no longer concentrated in a few states and has become nationalized. Anahp has just completed a survey of more than 30 associates across almost the entire country, which shows an average increase of 655% in the number of Covid cases since December. In Influenza records, the increase was 270% on average.

The institutions consulted in the survey recorded 13,040 positive cases of Covid in the period, according to Anahp, which represents a share of positivity above 20% in the total of tests. Of these, 32% resulted in hospitalization since December.

“Some people are going to have a test hastily without need. We are making an appeal to the population to evaluate well before going to the hospital because this can have unnecessary exposure”, says Britto.

Anahp has prepared informative material to publicize asking that patients seek the emergency room only for the most serious signs, such as shortness of breath, persistent fever and intense cough or with pre-existing chronic diseases. For those with mild or asymptomatic symptoms, the recommendation is to prioritize the search for outpatient care, such as medical appointments and telemedicine.

This Wednesday (5), the Municipal Health Department of Rio de Janeiro reduced the period of isolation of people with Covid to at least 7 days. For asymptomatic cases, the recommendation is 5 days of quarantine, but use of a mask for 7.

US health officials made a similar move. In December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reduced the recommended isolation time for those infected with the coronavirus without symptoms or with mild symptoms from 10 to 5 days.

The measure, announced amid the increase in Covid cases in the country, aimed to reduce the impacts of the virus on daily life and on the economy, as the lack of workers on leave made it difficult to operate flights, restaurants and commerce at the end of the year.

with Andressa Motter e Ana Paula Branco