Raquel de la Cruz He went to two health centers and waited 24 hours before getting a bed in the intensive care unit (UCI) for a relative who had suffered a stroke.
“In emergencies it was determined that, due to its condition, it should be admitted to UCIbut there were no available beds, so it remained on a 9-1-1 stretcher during 24 hoursuntil one was unoccupied, “he said.
The UCI They are specialized areas of hospitals destined to patients Serious, at risk of death or that require life support.
For Daniela Ortiz and her husband José, with heart problemsexperience has been different. In the center where he receives habitual attention They always manage to enter it. “As their condition is delicate, they cannot let it go, and the fact that they already know it has helped us. If there are no available beds, they leave it in emergency Until one gets rid, “said Ortiz.
In the case of Darío Ortegathe process was easier. His mother quickly agreed to the UCI of a Private Hospital of the capital thanks to “wedges”.
Health sector representatives ensure that the bed deficit In these units it is not new and responds so much to economic limitations as to the high index of accidents In the country.
“The majority of the injured must be admitted to our units due to the deterioration they present, which determines a prolonged hospital stay that reduces the physical space for patients with other pathologies that also require admission to UCI“Rosa Alonzo, president of the Dominican Society of Critical Medicine and Intensive Care (Sodemecu), said.
Alonzo advocated revaluing regions with the greatest bed deficitraise the quality of services and strengthen specialized personnel.
Hubiel López, neurosurgeon and intensivist of the Diagnostic, Advanced Medicine and Telemedicine Center (CEDIMAT), explained that between 10 and 20 % of the beds of a hospital They must be used to Intensive therapy to guarantee adequate coverage when a patient aggravates.
These units can be monovalent (focused on a specialty) or versatile (for various areas).
The cost
The difficulty of getting a bed in UCIin the public and private sector, it is also linked to Cost of internment.
“While it is true that new units have been opened to meet needs, it is no less true that many patients that do not have financial resources to enter a UCI private must face waiting in areas of emergency of a hospitaluntil a space is able to vacate, “Alonzo said.
The daily income price depends on the patient’s condition, treatments and studies. Alonzo estimated that one day can be around 100,000 pesos, while the National Health Service (SNS) Calculate that in hospitals traumatological can reach 200,000 pesos.
Both Lopez and Alonzo agree that the cost responds to level of attention and the technology that is required. “Intensive is expensive because it is Detail and qualityThat is what it gives, “said Cedimat’s specialist.
The UCI on the public network
The director of SNSMario Lama, attributed the growing demand of beds UCI public to the extension of the Hospital Network and population confidence in hospitals.
“In pediatric intensive care units we have more than 120 % beds compared to August 2020,” he said.
According to data from the SNSthe public network has:
According to him SNSfor seven million people – “ours prioritized population” – It is appropriate to have between 350 and 700 beds UCI. While, for 11 million people – the Estimated population of the country -, the public and private sector together should have between 600 and 1,100 beds.
And the private sector?
The president of the National Association of Clinics and Hospitals Private (Andeclip), Rafael Mena, said the financial crisis has led to the closure of several health centers and that UCI They do not escape these difficulties.
“Insurance have a coverage limit for patients In intensive and, generally, many of them exceed it, especially because of the high cost of medicines, “he warned.
He explained that a patient’s coverage can go from 500,000 to one million pesos. “There is patients that last days and even months in UCI; That amount does not even reach medications, “he said.” When the patient’s coverage is exhausted, the situation is complicated, because we must continue to supply the medications, and that has contributed to the bankruptcy of some clinics, “he added.
Mena did not specify how many beds the private sector has, but clarified that the Ministry of Health requires clinics to have a UCI. On the occupation, he commented: “There are times that they are full and are missing, and many times they are empty; it is a situation that oscillates quite a lot.”
Specialists agree that the patient’s severity is the main criterion for assigning beds. Alonzo added that those who are already admitted to a hospital are also prioritized and have worsening. López explained that in Cedimat they apply a “triage” system. “That means giving a more serious bed in ICU, but that is recoverable,” he said. This method, he said, comes from emergency medicine and then joined the intensive care units.
