For Fabio De Iaco, president of the Italian Society of Emergency and Urgency Medicine (Simeu), the situation “is dramatic almost everywhere. The difficulties will only get worse in the coming weeks”
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The president of the Italian Society of Emergency and Urgency Medicine (Simeu), Fabio De Iaco, explained to Ansa that the flu and Covid are putting a strain on emergency rooms, “with critical issues no longer localized but also widespread in Regions considered virtuous Accesses have increased by about 50% compared to what we saw in September”. A flu, the one we are seeing this year, not only much more virulent, but even arrived a month earlier than in previous years. “The difficulties can only get worse in the coming weeks. We expect the peak during the holidays, when we will have more elderly patients, but also more sick colleagues and therefore the need to cover more shifts with the same staff, which is already very scarce”.
De Iaco’s words
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De Iaco, who heads the Emergency Department and Emergency Medicine of the Maria Vittoria Hospital in Turin, explained that the situation “is dramatic almost everywhere, it can no longer be located only in regions such as Lazio, Sardinia, Piedmont, Campania, Lombardy, but also in Veneto, Emilia Romagna Tuscany or Friuli Venezia Giulia”. With the flu wave that began about three weeks ago “the children began to arrive in the emergency room first, but now the age is rising, which will increase during the holidays, a traditional moment for the exchange of viruses between generations”. Compared to pre-pandemic levels, the number of cases recorded so far was reached in mid-January, De Iaco stressed. But that’s not all: the increase in the circulation of Covid-19, with much higher numbers than those made official by the swab, aggravates the situation. “Many arrive with flu symptoms in the emergency room and we discover that it is Covid only at the time of the swab. On the other hand, the symptoms today are indistinguishable. And for the positives we have difficulty finding spaces and personnel for isolation”. However, the already known problems remain: the lack of personnel and spaces. “Due to the shortage of hospital places and the weakness of assistance in the area, patients waiting for hospitalization blocked in the emergency room are growing day by day. In many cases we have up to 30-40-50 waiting, in practice ‘ghost wards’. This involves ambulances stopped because they cannot load stretchers, but also tired staff beyond exhaustion and exasperated patients”. In fact, concludes De Iaco, “it is no longer an emergency because everything is expected but nothing is done to avoid it. We are witnessing a dramatic collapse that we have been denouncing for some time, the lack of measures is incredible”.
De Iaco’s appeal
In view of increasingly critical weeks, and considering the already serious situation, the doctors of the Emergency Department have launched an appeal to citizens: “For flu symptoms that have lasted for three days, unless you have particular frailties, it is inadvisable to contact at the emergency room”. For De Iaco “often adults, who do not find an answer in the area, panicked by a high fever or headache that has lasted for three days, go to the emergency room. But in doing so they face long waits and risk becoming infected with other viruses. The family doctor is the most suitable figure to contact, also taking into account that the fever in case of flu, it is normal that it can last five days”. De Iaco, in conclusion, recommends vaccination, already free and recommended for the over 60s, the chronically ill, pregnant women, children from 6 months to 6 years and social and health workers. “Those who have not yet done so can join the vaccination campaign, with a good chance of avoiding the complications of the disease and also consequent improper access to the hospital”.