The head of the public hospital’s emergency department said fewer people are seeking treatment from the department in recent days.
But he still describes the current workload as “overwhelming” because the department is receiving more severely-ill patients.
The emergency department of Conde de São Januário General Hospital (CHCSJ) said around 800 to 1,000 people have sought medical assistance from their department since the beginning of the current Covid-19 outbreak.
The hospital said the number is as many as three times more than in the same period last year.
And to handle the huge influx of patients, the Health Bureau has suspended some non-emergency services at the public hospital, and allocated more workforces from other departments to care for Covid-infected patients.
The acting director of the public hospital’s emergency department said the move has helped shorten the waiting time.
Dr Chang Tam Fei – A&E acting director, Conde de São Januário General Hospital:
“The recent waiting time at A&E has returned to a level similar to the same period last year. But most importantly, as I said, we can’t just say the challenge is over after the situation has improved. We are still at the peak in severely ill patients.
The majority of residents has contracted the virus, and there are fewer infected who came without a prior appointment. So, we have allocated more workforce to the ambulance area.”
