Hundreds of COVID patients have inundated the Taipei City Hospital network this past week. A labor union is warning that the staff at city hospitals is stretched thin, and in need of relief.
Taiwan’s worst COVID-19 outbreak to date has hit Taipei City fast and hard. According to the Taipei City Hospital Labor Union, the reality is: medical resources are maxed out. The union says staff and supplies are stretched thin across all of the city hospitals. They’re warning that collapse is imminent.
All hands are on deck to combat COVID-19. Medical staff regularly work 12-hour shifts, with one worker saying they took only one sip of water in a seven hour span. The influx of COVID patients means that hospital beds and respirators are also hard to come by.
Union head Kuo Kuei-ying says that some city hospitals have resorted to placing COVID patients on tables. She says that medical staff have to make the difficult decision of which patients can get medical attention. Kuo says it would be better if overwhelmed city hospitals could temporarily stop taking in COVID patients.
Taipei City hospitals have begun limiting non-urgent care services in order to shift the focus to treating coronavirus patients. But it takes time to reallocate resources and train personnel.
Taipei City Hospital Superintendent Huang Sheng-Jean says that the hospital is working to dedicate wards to treating COVID-19 patients. He says only medical workers that are willing to work with COVID patients will be sent to the frontlines.