Oklahoma City hospitals are experiencing staff shortages and a massive number of hospitalizations. There are no vacant ICU beds or patient general beds at the hospital, owing to the surge of Omicron infections.
Oklahoma Healthcare Facilities Are Under Tremendous Pressure
The authorities have also revealed that all the beds are full and that the healthcare workers are working with full force. But most seem to get exhausted because of the increasing pressure.
The authorities have penned down their position in an open letter that states that there is no opportunity for patients who are down with other ailments. If someone has a car accident or any stroke, the four main hospitals in the state may have to return the patient.
In Oklahoma City, 107 patients were on waiting in emergency rooms. The four health systems have 300 fewer beds than the last season but twice as many numbers of patients waiting.
On Monday alone there were over 12,000 cases of Omicron in Oklahoma City. That brought the total number of active cases to above a lac on a seven-day average. Moreover, the acute shortage of staff members was due to the fact, that many have had to quarantine because of the infection themselves. This seemed to have crippled the hospital facility.
The hospitals have requested the general public to visit community healthcare centers for tests and not the hospitals, as there would be fewer staff to attend to them. The only message that seems to be circulating at the moment, is to mask up, maintain social distancing, ad increase vaccination.
The letter was addressed to all, including the general public, to have some mercy on the healthcare workers. The stress currently has overwhelmed all facilities in Oklahoma City and is bracing for more. The letter stated that caregivers were sick of the battle that they have been fighting, for two years.
The current situation has led to inadequate care for the patients, which hospital authorities are not like at all. There are four main health systems in Oklahoma, and around 1,000 healthcare workers are currently under quarantine. The health systems are attending to their internal struggles and are also in arguments with the state departments.
Last year, the authorities had passed mandates that masks were not mandatory and that vaccination was also vaccinations were also not mandatory for public schools. These approaches have created a rift between the healthcare systems and the state governments.
The health systems are at the receiving end of the problem. The Chief Covid Office at OU Health has said that there are quite a few statements that say that masks work. And, their use has to be regularized in various public settings. The contradictory messages that the population at Oklahoma City are getting, have made a wrong impression on the public.
The Chief Medical Officer at one of the renowned healthcare facilities has also stated that they know that the milder Omicron can overwhelm the system. And, they already have an inkling of what Covid-19 is all about from more dangerous past variants. But in spite of the so-called mildness, the hospitals are not doing good, due to non-cooperation from several other quarters.
It is been said from various quarters that Omicron is not dangerous. But, none of the hospitals in Oklahoma City has vacant ICU beds. The healthcare professionals are of the opinion, that they are working continuously to mitigate the situation for over two years now. However, this is the first in which Omicron cases are rising quite fast.
With emergency departments overflowing, and with a mad rush for general beds, things seem to be moving the wrong way.
