Risky days for critical patients

SEVERELY ill patients may not be admitted to intensive care units if they have chronic health conditions that mean it is unlikely they will survive COVID-19.

The rules, released by the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS), warn that in the event of an overwhelming demand for critical care services during the outbreak: “Senior Intensive Care medical staff, recognising available resources, should consider the probable outcome of the patient’s condition, the burden of ICU treatment for the patient and their family, patients’ comorbidities and wishes, and likelihood of response to treatment.”

The guidelines forecast that demand for ICU care will exceed capacity when up to 50 per cent of hospital beds are occupied by patients with the pandemic illness.

To prepare for the expected overwhelming demand on ICU beds under COVID-19, ANZICS is calling for elective surgery to be deferred or sent to private hospitals to free up ICU beds.

It calls for the opening of additional ICU capacity in sites outside hospitals such as newly built but unfinished hospitals or previously decommissioned hospitals.

And for use of a centralised co-ordination and retrieval service which connects all ICU beds within a region. The new guidelines warn some patients may have to stay longer in emergency department beds and operating theatre recovery rooms to free up ICU capacity for COVID-19 patients.