(UPDATE) New beds for covid19 patients filled as quickly as they're added

Within 24 hours, the occupancy level at the parallel healthcare system has moved from 72 per cent to 66 per cent.

But in saying this, principal medical officer Dr Maryam Abdool-Richards pointed out that 93 beds had been added to the parallel healthcare system between Tuesday and Wednesday.

She was speaking at the Health Ministry’s virtual press conference on Wednesday.

She said a Tacarigua step-down facility was added, which currently has 38 beds. The Debe step-down facility now has 90 beds – it previously had 50 – and the new Point Fortin Hospital now has 75 ward-level beds – as opposed to 60 before.

There is now a total of 891 beds in the parallel healthcare system, she said, adding, “I’d like to reiterate to members of the population that the bed status is dynamic. It is based on a supply-demand equation.”

She said as new beds are being added, they are being filled just as quickly.

The Intensive Care Unit (ICU), she said, is now at 80 per cent occupancy, while the high dependency unit (HDU) was at 48 per cent occupancy.

“Total ward occupancy is at 67 per cent. It’s 72 per cent in Trinidad and continues to be 32 per cent in Tobago. We do transition ward-level beds at the Couva Medical and Multi-training Facility, the Arima General Hospital, the Augustus Long Hospital and the Point Fortin Hospital from ward-level beds to ICU-level beds to HDU-level beds, based on the level of care that is required.

"It’s important to note the clinical course of covid19 continues to be one where clients require between five and 12 days at hospital. We’ve noticed a fluctuation in demand for HDU beds.”

Richards said the Couva field hospital is at 31 per cent occupancy and the Port of Spain field hospital is 100 per cent full.

“It is imperative to note that during the day we continue to have admissions, transfers, and discharges through these units, so the number will vary. However, the trend at the PoS hospital, which was activated one week ago, has been at 100 per cent occupancy at all times.”

She said of the 15 institutions in the parallel healthcare system, 12 of the 13 in Trinidad were above the red zone of 75 per cent.

“In spite of us increasing beds, they continue to be filled. We are looking at a net increase in beds of 41 cases per day across the system.

"I would like to remind the nation that for someone to receive optimal care for covid19, all resources need to be co-ordinated and available for a bed, that is, nursing staff, personal protective equipment, and medical personnel.”