The National Health Service (SNS) currently has 1855 ventilators in a hospital context ready to respond to the possible worsening of the Covid-19 pandemic in the coming months, said today the Secretary of State for Health, Diogo Serras Lopes.
The number was put forward at the press conference on the evolution of the pandemic situation in Portugal and reflects an increase of 713 devices, in other words, about 62% of the installed capacity of mechanical ventilation compared to what existed at the first peak of Covid-19, between March and April, and which was then located in 1142 pieces of equipment of this nature.
«Of the purchases that were made during the pandemic to increase the capacity of this equipment, 966 of this equipment have already been delivered, are in the national territory, and 713 are already in hospitals. This includes purchases, donations and recovered equipment to deal with this issue. In a hospital context, we have 1855 ventilators», stressed the government official.
According to Diogo Serras Lopes, the other 253 ventilators – among the 966 ensured since the beginning of the pandemic – that have not yet been installed in the NHS "are being tested and are about to be distributed by hospitals", so the government does not foresee at this moment the need to reinforce the capacity of intensive mechanical ventilation.
"The assessment of ventilation capacity is carried out on a permanent basis, but given the occupation in intensive care units, we do not foresee that a centralized acquisition will be necessary", he observed, without failing to make a reservation for isolated purchases: "It is It is natural that there are purchases of fans, but we do not anticipate that a higher purchase will be necessary. This will depend on the evolution of the pandemic context».
The idea of a situation under control was also expressed by the Secretary of State for Health in relation to the occupation of beds with Covid patients in wards and intensive care units (ICU) in the Lisbon and Vale do Tejo region – the most pressured by the disease in this region. phase -, with 364 and 68 people interned, respectively.
“It's not a significant variation from the previous numbers, there is currently capacity. We have already had quite different phases in the pandemic and flexibility in expanding beds has already been demonstrated. This capacity exists and is a situation that we observe daily, so the system will react according to the needs that arise," he said.
Additionally, Diogo Serras Lopes also listed the back-up hospitals as a solution for expanding the response capacity, a possibility that is foreseen in the plan for Autumn-Winter 2020, although he acknowledged that «they were not very used in the first phase» of the Covid-19 in the country. The general director of Health, Graça Freitas, considered that they will only be installed as a "last resort" for medical assistance.
«It is not quantified how many will be needed, one may be considered for Porto and another for Lisbon, but they will only be activated in case of extreme need. A plan has to consider the contingency of a more drastic situation," he explained, also recalling that its installation is not "highly complex."
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