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44% of advanced treatment hospitals face difficulty due to virus

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The problem is not about the overall shortage of healthcare resources, but its distribution is unbalanced and unfair. Burdens are being piled up only on certain hospitals while in other hospitals, waiting rooms and corridors are empty.

Although about 20 % of all hospitals in Japan have taken care of corona patients, the remaining and vast majority (mostly smaller sized and private clinics) have still refused to take them.

患者受け入れ病院2割のみ 中小で17〜5% 厚労省、病院再編統合を再検討

https://mainichi.jp/articles/20201021/k00/00m/040/252000c

Unfortunately, in lack of a special emergency law, the government can't order those "defiant" hospitals to be more cooperative in taking covid patients.

Advanced treatment hospitals are aimed to treat specifically patients of critical conditions (e.g. cancers, heart diseases). Those hospitals should be liberated from covid works in order to focus on own substantial works. Meanwhile most covid patients have mild symptoms in no need of special care there. They should move to ordinary clinics or quarantine facilities.

The state's goal is to save as many lives as possible from various life-threats, regardless of the virus.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

I am really sorry to say this but it is true. Nowhere else in the world do i see so many doctors duck their professional responsibilities. Every excuse is used by the privately owned clinics not to treat covid patients. At the same time, they do try to get government money.

i see no strained or exhausted doctors and nurses except those at public institutions. They deserve all my respect and gratitude. But there are many others who deserve my wrath. There will be not a large overdeath because of non treatment from other diseases as the private clinics like that business. Only the ones relying on public hospitals will suffer. Since these are mostly people with little influence, government doesn’t care about them.

As foreigners in Japan, in this case as in most other circumstances, know you can only rely on yourself. That is the only certainty youhave

4 ( +5 / -1 )

I am really sorry to say this but it is true. Nowhere else in the world do i see so many doctors duck their professional responsibilities

I think this is true, and I personally don't count them at all. The medical doctors in Europe even general practitioners carry different values and different ethics .

Turns out here, the doctors you are referring to are more like craftsmen with rather limited skill set. Very similar to me reading wiki and a lot worse then a computer programme. Likely best if the stay out of this.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

You realize you need special facilities and personnel to treat an extremely infectious and deadly disease, right?

Well the private clinics around the world have upgraded and are providing the facilities.. why are the private clinics in japan unable to do so...

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-private-providers-of-coronavirus-testing/list-of-private-providers-of-coronavirus-testing

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Due to these knock-on effects, perhaps we should focus on excess mortality, not the number of deaths from Covid-19 itself.

That said, one other knock-on effect from Covid-19 and masks/hand sanitizer is a sharp reduction in influenza, so the big picture will be complicated.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Come on, there was more than plenty of time to build some sufficient and equipped container hospitals in every regional center, only for corona cases, all potential patients first tested there concentrated with quick test results, and then splitted to stay directly for corona treatment or to be released for going elsewhere, so that all other medical facilities wouldn’t have been affected at all, no stress, no postponements of surgery, no infection clusters. They needed two weeks in Wuhan to construct such temporary hospitals, while here or in most other countries still isn’t so much of that after a whole year and therefore the numbers explode and infections can’t be traced or outbreaks encircled. Wake up quickly, you can sleep enough afterwards for an eternity in all your personal graves, but not now while still living, please.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

But yes, it's just another manifestation of the completely inept government "response" that they didn't even try.

Without a special law or legal-binding the Japanese gov can't force private clinics to cooperate with the state anti-virus program (otherwise lawsuits would be likely as the move can be found unconstitutional).

Back in last spring when PM Abe tried to pass a legislation, the opposition groups & critics resisted it for fear of power abuse. The legislation was aborted, and the government has since continued to deal with the crisis through "asking" request.

There are other terrible red-tapes making effective measures hard to implement. Under the current arrangements, inter-prefectural communications and cooperation are largely limited. Without a special permission, ambulances can't drive and admit patients to nearby hospitals across prefectural borders (but I guess this point has been lately reformed thanks to mounting complaints). Thus Osaka's beds were almost fully occupied; at the same time its closest prefectures spare many vacancies and manpower.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Just adding my 2 pennies.

my wife’s hospital (private)here in Kobe specializes in a form of cancer but has been taken over by COVID and they have tried to contain it to one floor. The owner hides in his office all day othe doctors and nighttime shift (big money/ nothing to do,) refuse to go near the infected floor. My part time wife and her colleagues get monster drink and a bento box for their troubles, they are all stressed and only doing it out of solidarity to their colleagues and for the patients. A disorganized selfish mess!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

There is a possibly lack Of hospital that likely treats Covid patients. Or wiling to as a result the medical system is under pressure and pending collapse. I have stated previously that there will not be enough medical beds and first class doctor support to accommodate everyone in Japan at the rate of infections.a true Lock down needed for a month to get this under control.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

With the first cohort of post war baby boomers now in their mid 70s, the number of annual deaths has already commenced an inexorable climb which will not end until the bulge has been removed. We should be on on our guard against those, here and elsewhere who, under the guise of Covid, point to a higher number of annual deaths as evidence of something other than what it is.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Crises bring out the best and worst in people

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@ZorotoToday  01:43 pm JST

my wife’s hospital (private)here in Kobe

You have been saying this for the last 2 months, at least. If the situation was bad 2 months ago, it's probably impossible right now. What has changed in that time?

more deaths, more staff infection, no support from owner or government, exhausted wife stressed family. Number of patients has dropped by 50% though as they have died, less staff available to care for less patients. Happy?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Jesus.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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