Experience in dealing with COVID-19 pandemic with original phasing in our hospital

Abstract

Since December 2019, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been spreading worldwide. The first wave in Japan caused confusion from the lack of testing resources and insufficient facilities to accommodate patients. The National Center for Global Health and Medicine began providing medical services for COVID-19 in January 2020, but the rapid rise in the number of consultations and referrals, as well as the need to prioritize treating severely ill patients, led to a disproportionately heavy workload on certain departments. This situation increased the number of hours worked overtime in the Department of Infectious Diseases by 3.5 times compared to the previous year. Reasons considered were that dealing with critically ill patients requires resources, including human and material, and as the situation was unclear to other departments, providing support, was difficult for them. A task force including the director and other hospital executives was formed with the aim of providing efficient and safe medical care. A unique phasing system was created within the hospital that was determined by the number of critically ill patients. This could act as a bottleneck for hospital administration systems. By obtaining cooperation from the entire hospital staff, the overtime hours were improved. It will be necessary to change the phases and medical care burden according to increases and decreases in the number of COVID-19 patients. In addition, when the situation worsens, it is advisable to consider changing the health-care system and reduce low-priority medical care such as health-checkup.