Public hospitals suspend hospitalizations and non-emergency operations for 30 days, the chief of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat announced on Monday. He said that this measure is being taken because of the COVID crisis.
“We have to issue a 30-day order stipulating that the managers of public units with beds have the hospitalizations for operations and other non-emergency treatments suspended,” he said, adding that cancer patients, those on dialysis, pregnant women and emergency rooms are excepted.
The measures are enforceable based on the assessment of the specialist doctor. Arafat mentioned that the doctor will argue in the observation sheet what is the medical motivation that imposes the need for hospitalization of patients.
“That is, each case is analyzed by the doctor who treats the case and decides whether it can be rescheduled, postponed or whether it must be treated during this period in that unit,” he said.
At the same time, the managers of the public units with beds will distribute the staff that becomes available to the medical units that treat COVID patients.