BOSTON (WHDH) - A doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital said he has noticed a significant uptick in the number of patients coming in for treatment but for right now, he says they have all the equipment they need.
Over the last few weeks, COVID-19 patients have been streaming into the hospital and Emergency Room physician Derek Monette said there has been a noticeable uptick in just the past few days.
“The proportion of patients getting admitted to the hospital has become almost the number one diagnosis at this point, if not the number one diagnosis,” he said.
So far, 171 patients are being treated for the virus at Mass. General Hospital — 75 of whom are in intensive care
“We have seen an increase in the acuity and the need for our team to provide critical care services,” he explained.
Not only are these cases more severe, but the increase in the number of patients from week to week has been substantial, according to Dr. Monette.
“I think the hardest thing about dealing with this in the hospital, is it feels at times like it is all COVID all the time,” he said. “In the emergency department, we are used to seeing a breadth of patients.”
Doctors must be covered with personal protective equipment which includes a face shield, masks and protective clothing when treating a patient to keep everyone involved safe.
“It’s hard because we have to protect ourselves, with all of the PPE that we have heard so much about. So, that human connection … we are doing our best to make it as much as we can with patients but it is certainly a challenge,” he explained.
Monette said that MGH is prepared and as of right now, they have the beds and the ventilators they need to treat their patients.
“We don’t know all the nuances about COVID-19 at this point but we do know how to take care of patients when we don’t have all the answers and that is what we are trained for and that is what we are going to keep doing.”
Monette said there is a team working to put a plan in place just in case the hospital runs short on the life-saving ventilators.
“We have experts in this field, in biothreats and infectious disease, working on a committee to do determine what we are going to do if and when we don’t have the resources we need, but at the moment we have everything we need, and we are going to take it one week at a time,” he said.
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