Aside from panic-buying being a big problem in light of the Coronavirus outbreak, hospitals have also been experiencing scarcity in medical supplies.
Washington Hospitals are using office supplies for protective gear
It has been so bad that hospital workers in Washington opted out in making DIY protective gear using office supplies as a response to the shortage of equipment needed to fight the Coronavirus or COVID-19.
One of the most important gears that these workers need is clear vinyl sheets. According to Bloomberg, a statement from Becca Bartles, the executive director of infection prevention at Providence St. Joseph Health, said that they are so close to losing and running out of face shields and that they are probably just days away from losing it all.
With no options left, Providence infection control and quality experts have then decided to try and design a model of face shields using foam, elastic, industrial tape, and marine-grade vinyl that they bought at Home Depot and at craft stores.
About 20 administrative staff members have volunteered to work and put together 500 homemade face shields needed in Seattle on the same night. Another kind of prototype and DIY face masks have been made using surgical wrap materials and these are all currently being tested.
Supplies grow even shorter day by day
As hospitals try to treat thousands of Coronavirus patients, Washington-based medical provider has been experiencing shortage and scarcity of personal protective gears or PPE and has been happening across the country.
It is known that Washington state has come in second in the United States with most Coronavirus infections which have skyrocketed at 900 diagnosed. Unfortunately, it is the same area where the Coronavirus has killed 30 residents at a nursing home. The first case treated by Providence was a Chinese traveler in January.
Because of the shortages, emergency room doctors and nurses have opted to take extensive measures in providing medical equipment especially the N95 masks, gloves, gowns, and eye protection.
An emergency room doctors, Aimee Moulin, and Vivian Reyes told Bloomberg that, "Many ER physicians are taking things into their own hands to find ways to protect themselves. They shouldn't be forced to worry about this. They're going into battle and they should be armed with whatever they need. These aren't normal times. Our supply chain has been stunted. We're not getting new supplies and our stores are almost depleted."
All front-line doctors are at a big risk of exposure
This is true and it is very alarming and upsetting.
According to Doctors without Borders, 1,700 healthcare workers in Italy who were also coping with the medical supply and gear shortage amid coronavirus were infected by it as well, tallying to about 8% of the country's cases all in all.
Numerous hospitals worldwide are unable to put in orders for various medical gears during this tough time. Marc Brown, a spokesman, has said that incoming shipments of new supplies such as nasal swabs, gowns, face shields, masks used to test patients are now being delayed or either canceled due to a surge of demand across the global health care industry.
