Osakidetza gradually begins the return to healthcare activity | Radio Bilbao

The counselor has recognized that things “are changing in the healthcare network” thanks to the measures adopted, the “commitment” and “dedication” of professionals and the responsible exercise of citizenship.

This and the evolution of the pandemic have made it possible to tackle the recovery and reorganization of healthcare activity that has been altered to deal with the coronavirus, with the suspension, for example, of consultations and non-urgent operations.

Thus and as detailed by the director of Health Care of Osakidetza, Andoni Arcelay, in terms of outpatient consultations in hospitals, those that were delayed will first be identified and after assessing their urgency, it will be analyzed if they need an in-person or telephone appointment.

First, there will be the delayed preferred and then the ordinary. There will be a phone call prior to any face-to-face consultation to detect patients with COVID-19

Regarding complementary diagnostic tests, Arcelay explained that the necessary tests will be prioritized and will be grouped together with consultations to make the process more decisive.

Those who are waiting for a surgical intervention will undergo a telephone assessment of their state of health by the medical team that treats them to determine the urgency and estimated deadlines.

Arcelay has given some examples of how the gradual recovery of activity in hospitals will be addressed.

Thus, he said that 18 operating rooms will be opened in Cruces next week and indicated that 6 hospital units for non-COVID-19 patients with a total of 210 beds have been set up in this center. In Basurto there will be 10 operating theaters that open next week to increase surgical activity.

In the HUA Txagorritxu there will be 4 operating rooms to incorporate, in addition to the unspeakable actions, the preferential operations, and in Santiago next week there will be 6 open operating rooms.

Arcelay has assured that since yesterday the Urduliz hospital has become a hospital without COVID-19 patients, after having more than 105.

Galdakao Hospital is working on measures related to Primary Care, expanding the sectorization of equipment in order to expand the circuits of patients with and without COVID-19. Next week psychiatry will return and 8 operating rooms will be enabled.

The coordinator of Primary Care, Susana Martín, explained for her part that this level of care will play an important role in the “early” detection and “control” of the epidemic in this plan.

Martín has acknowledged that health centers are not going to recover normality as it was understood before the coronavirus because they will continue to prioritize telephone attention, although face-to-face attention will gradually be reintroduced.

Thus he said that for the second week of May the screening programs and the vaccination schedule will be resumed.

Also that the agendas of the centers will be reorganized in a coordinated way to reduce the crowds of patients in the health centers.

In addition, work is being done so that it is possible to move from specific coronavirus care centers to consultations in each health center for these patients, although he has said that zoning is maintained for now

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