Primary care supports ‘Covid Health Mega Centers’

In times of severe healthcare stress experienced by the Covid-19 pandemic, health authorities have decided to build field hospitals or mono-complexes for SARS-CoV-2. However, since it is primary care that experiences a moment of maximum saturation, the idea of ​​a “comprehensive health center” or “field health center” is not among the choices of health leaders, and moreover, specialists exclude let it be Good solution except to provide “bureaucratic support”.

“You need people, not buildings. Obviously, the increase in demand overburdens any system, but we are operating with less forces, either because they are out or because of the historical deficit that we have been warning for years in places that were not covered,” explains the president of the Spanish Society of General Practitioners and Family Physicians (SEMG), Antonio Fernandez-Pro -Ledesma, who remembers that the “real” problem is that the citizen calls and no one on the other side answers or gives him an appointment for fifteen days.

A claim shared by José Polo García, president of the Spanish Association of Primary Care Physicians (Simmergen), and adds to it the “enormous bureaucratic burden” that the family doctor bears. “70 percent of our time is devoted to fixing the paperwork that administrators can do. All Interim Disability Management (IT) processes involve an entertaining process and not a clinical work,” Specialist details.

Bureaucratic support for primary care?

Providing support specifically with these bureaucratic or tracking issues is one thing the family will not see badly from setting up field health centers. “From time to time, somewhere to form support units by the military or by other means To provide support in vaccination, tracking or IT management can be done To avoid saturation of the population and the image of people queuing at the centers,” García Polo highlights.

Specialist understands that to avoid crowding, due to capacity constraints in waiting rooms, it “would not be a bad thing” to enable suites in sports centers or campaign centers. It would facilitate these efforts. One thing is the clinic and the other is the person who wants to see the doctor for a particular role. You’re coming to the abyss, then you come from here. Moreover, it can be carried out by administrative personnel, ”explains the head of Semergen.

Contrary to this idea, Pro-Ledesma was shown, although he admitted that it would assume support. “All the help is good, but why don’t the officials send it to the centers. You really have to see what the citizen needs and Break out of the bottleneck caused by the current situation. The peak of the wave will come and then we will forget everything,” confirms the SEMG head.

In addition, the specialist repeats that this “bureaucratic support” It wouldn’t be a solution at all. “When tracing is carried out by the military or social workers, they have been a minute aid, but setting up a large center when we talk about self-isolation and self-diagnosis does not make sense. It is not a solution at the moment nor are other similar moments. In times of need everything is used, but now we are not facing that medical emergency”, he claims.

Are there specialists in these holistic health centers?

Another stop to implementing the idea of ​​holistic health centers is where to get the health professionals who work in them. Family physician representatives agree on this, it should be Hiring new people.

“There are not enough doctors to fill family vacancies, so it will be difficult to find them in these field centers. Another problem is that they are full of administrative staff and nursing assistants,” explains García Polo.

A problem that Pro-Ledesma also points out: “Where will the professionals come from? In the health centers we are minimal and the vacancies are not full. What they have to do is strengthen myselfOptimizing the resources in the health centers and therefore with enough staff we can provide assistance.”