Field hospital opens new ICU

Field hospital opens new ICU

Kittisak: Has all equipment needed
Kittisak: Has all equipment needed

A new intensive care unit (ICU) opened at Busarakam field hospital yesterday, after the facility was criticised for failing to refer critically-ill Covid-19 patients to hospital in a timely manner.

Kittisak Aksornwong, assistant to the permanent secretary of public health and chief of Busarakam field hospital, said the decision to open an ICU at the field hospital was taken as there is a serious shortage of hospital beds.

The ICU is equipped with 13 beds, and a negative pressure room which can accommodate four patients, according to Dr Kittisak.

"The new ICU unit is equipped with all necessary medical equipment, including a life support system. We will move five patients who are currently in a coma to the temporary ICU unit to test its equipment," he said.

According to Dr Kittisak, patients who require intensive medical care at a hospital will be temporarily cared for at the unit until a hospital bed frees up.

"We expect the [ICU] beds to be fully occupied soon," he said.

Busarakam field hospital is at Challenger Hall in Nonthaburi's Impact Muang Thong Thani Exhibition Centre. The temporary ICU is at the venue's car park, away from the main hall where patients with moderate Covid-19 symptoms are being cared for.

According to Dr Kittisak, since the field hospital opened on May 14, it has cared for 14,213 patients, 3,333 of whom were transferred to other hospitals.

He said the number of people needing oxygen support at the field hospital has gone down, from 750 last week to 450 this week. However, he said, the number of patients requiring high-flow nasal oxygen continues to climb at a rate of about 170 a day, while about 10 people each day need to be intubated.

Meanwhile, six soldiers were infected with Covid-19 while helping out a mangosteen wholesaler in Phrommakhiri district of Nakhon Si Thammarat.

The six were among soldiers assigned on July 27 to assist the wholesaler, in tambon Ban Ko, who had a problem getting workers. Their job was to sort fruit bought from farmers, according to size.

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