Hi Bernard. I love your comments but youre missing a critical point. By asking what vaccination level we need to reopen you imply that hospital capacity is fixed. Its not. What we should be asking is how much pandemic surge capacity do we need to reopen now. Dont clog up our hospitals. Unused sports arenas should be reconfigured as covid…
Hi Bernard. I love your comments but youre missing a critical point. By asking what vaccination level we need to reopen you imply that hospital capacity is fixed. Its not. What we should be asking is how much pandemic surge capacity do we need to reopen now. Dont clog up our hospitals. Unused sports arenas should be reconfigured as covid wards with ICU at one end. If we need more nurses fly them in with the promise of citizenship after 2 years. This should not be difficult and it would get us moving again. After covid 19 put the equipment into storage for Covid 22 and so on.
I tend to agree. There's no quick fix for our beleaguered health sector (100% respect to those working in it), but there are plenty of examples of other countries setting up temporary surge capacity to manage waves. It allows flexibility and means we can adapt conditions as required. It also means we can redeploy it, for other emergency uses, as needed. So I guess the question might be: 'Rather than look for big ticket, long term solutions, what options is the Government exploring to grow our temporary surge capacity, as other Governments have successfully done?'
Nicely put. Weve all seen those wartime photos of rows of beds in nissan huts and warehouses. Theres no need for special precautions apart from good ppe for staff as all the patients coming in are already sick. Weve been told that were at war with the virus, so lets start acting as if its true.
Hi Bernard. I love your comments but youre missing a critical point. By asking what vaccination level we need to reopen you imply that hospital capacity is fixed. Its not. What we should be asking is how much pandemic surge capacity do we need to reopen now. Dont clog up our hospitals. Unused sports arenas should be reconfigured as covid wards with ICU at one end. If we need more nurses fly them in with the promise of citizenship after 2 years. This should not be difficult and it would get us moving again. After covid 19 put the equipment into storage for Covid 22 and so on.
I tend to agree. There's no quick fix for our beleaguered health sector (100% respect to those working in it), but there are plenty of examples of other countries setting up temporary surge capacity to manage waves. It allows flexibility and means we can adapt conditions as required. It also means we can redeploy it, for other emergency uses, as needed. So I guess the question might be: 'Rather than look for big ticket, long term solutions, what options is the Government exploring to grow our temporary surge capacity, as other Governments have successfully done?'
Nicely put. Weve all seen those wartime photos of rows of beds in nissan huts and warehouses. Theres no need for special precautions apart from good ppe for staff as all the patients coming in are already sick. Weve been told that were at war with the virus, so lets start acting as if its true.
Good question. I'll try Hipkins tomorrow on temporary surge capacity.
Thanks John. Interesting idea. I'll have a chat to a few ICU doctors.