Hospitals swamped by flood patients

[Snowy Owl]

Hospitals swamped by flood patients
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailcity.asp?fileid=20070219.C01&irec=0
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]The Jakarta Post, Jakarta[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Several city hospitals have been overwhelmed by the surge in patients with diseases brought on by the recent floods, despite the deployment of additional medical workers by the Jakarta Health Agency.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Koja Hospital in North Jakarta, has only one nurse for every 20 patients. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Nurse Idah, one of four nurses handling about 120 patients being treated at the hospital's function hall, said she and her co-workers had been very busy dealing with both recently admitted patients and outpatients. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]"It's been really exhausting working the last couple of days. Many people have been discharged, but there have been more patients admitted," she said Sunday. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Since the outbreak of diseases such as diarrhea and dengue fever last week, the health agency has sent out more than 300 doctors and nurses to help hospitals cope with the demand. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Agency spokeswoman Tini Suryati said Sunday that the agency had recently sent an extra 90 doctors to Koja Hospital. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]The hospital has had to open extra rooms to deal with the increasing number of patients and is treating many in hallways and makeshift tents. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]As many as six air-conditioned tents, equipped with mobile toilets, have been erected in front of the hospital's emergency room and in its grounds. Each tent has a patient capacity of 17 to 20. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Diarrhea and dengue fever patients are still dominating the hospital rooms. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]As of Sunday, the number of patients being treated for diarrhea had reached 405, while another 91 were receiving treatment for dengue fever. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Tarakan Hospital in Central Jakarta is also struggling with an influx of patients. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]It reported on Sunday that there were 148 patients hospitalized for diarrhea and 53 patients being treated for dengue fever. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Many of the patients are being treated in the hospital aisles on camp beds. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]The hospital said it was admitting 50 to 60 patients every day, most of whom were suffering from diarrhea. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]The hospital now has 219 medical workers, after recently receiving additional staff from the city health agency. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Besides treating diarrhea and dengue fever, the hospital is also handling 14 patients infected with what is believed to be leptospirosis, a bacterial disease transmitted by rats. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]While the hospital is running blood tests at its laboratory, the patients are yet to be officially declared to be suffering from leptospirosis as the results of the tests have to be sent to the Veterinary Center in Bogor for further examination. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]The disease outbreak was brought on by the recent floods that affected large parts of the city. Poor sanitation in temporary shelters and flooding in residential areas greatly contributed to the outbreak. (04)[/FONT]