Naples hospitals overwhelmed by the second wave of Covid-19

The ambulance has just returned, it needs to be cleaned and disinfected before leaving. At the moment it is mainly at night that Saturday, the driver, Carolina, the nurse and Franceso the doctor work their 12-hour shift. But every time it is the same refrain: there is not enough space in this Italian hospital in Naples, Campania. From there, the second wave of contamination with the Covid-19 coronavirus has passed and the anxious population goes to the hospital at the slightest onset of symptoms. “It is the operations center that tells us which hospital we should go to, explique Saturday. And even if there are no beds, they tell us to stay there in the emergency room until a bed is available. “

The health system is collapsing and every time we are stuck in front of the emergency room it makes one less medical ambulance for our area …

Saturday, ambulancier

to franceinfo

The other patients are therefore not treated while the ambulance waits and it can be interminable. The trio spent more than 24 hours in an ambulance with a patient a few days ago. It’s no longer manageable, warns Carolina, the 24-year-old nurse. “We turned the ambulance into a hospital room when we performed an operation for a patient who was in an ambulance for 26 hours before being hospitalized. remembers the nurse. We are afraid for her and for us because we are in contact, not just a few minutes, but 26 hours in a closed and small place. And this patient needed ongoing assistance! (…) It’s hard to say but we had to wait for another patient to die to get in, it’s really creepy …“, sigh Carolina.

They are also afraid of infecting others. In addition, Carolina like Sabato and Francesco are ultra protected thanks to a white waterproof blouse. Not an inch of leather is exposed and they wear a black mask such as a gas mask, helmet and visor. For Francesco, the doctor, health services are so overwhelmed that it is urgent to reconfigure. “Compared to the first wave, we are in another dimension, it’s incredible”, He explains.

I have the impression that unfortunately our politicians do not want to see the gravity of the situation. There is a total paralysis of the health services that they can no longer manage.

Francesco, doctor

to franceinfo

“I blame those who know, see and do nothing!” Francesco continues. The president of the Campania Region, Vincenzo De Luca, who has repeatedly denied that hospitals have been overwhelmed, is being targeted. Ultimately it is the State that has just decided to create red zones in Campania.