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Merge 104.8 | 27 May 2020
Oman’s Ministry of Health (MoH) has issued a statement in clarification of the use of the National Centre for Cardiac Medicine and Surgery for COVID-19 admissions.
The statement, which was issued online over Eid, is in response to rumours being circulated online that allege the emptying of the centre to accommodate COVID-19 patients is due to hospitals in Muscat being full to capacity with coronavirus cases.
The MoH, represented by the Royal Hospital in its statement, has clarified that the National Heart Centre has been used to treat critical and moderate cases of COVID-19 that require hospitalization since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
As per the MoH, this is due to a number of factors, including:
— Beds used to accommodate patients in the National Heart Centre can be outfitted as Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds for those urgent cases, without the need of moving the patient from one ward to another — thus, reducing the patient’s contact with others during transit and further minimizing the spread of the virus.
— There is greater ease of control of entrances to the National Heart Centre so staff can more easily monitor and limit movement and visits.
— The use of the National Heart Centre to accommodate critical COVID-19 patients also helps ensure the safe continuation of the Royal Hospital’s other services — especially for emergencies, and for those patients undergoing cancer treatment, and for patients who are pregnant.
— The use of the National Heart Centre also helps ensure that those patients with COVID-19 remain far from the National Oncology Centre in order to protect patients undergoing cancer treatment from potential exposure to COVID-19. This is because those patients receiving chemotherapy have compromised immune systems, making them more susceptible to the virus.
— And, by using the National Heart Centre to accommodate COVID-19 patients, this means that the Royal Hospital can also minimize risk of exposure to patients receiving kidney dialysis. Currently the Royal Hospital has extensive dialysis capabilities for renal patients and, by sequestering COVID-19 patients in the National Heart Centre, this means that they can safely continue this service.
(Also read: COVID-19 Oman: ROP issues statement clarifying conditions for face-masks.)
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