Organizing treatment in emergency health care facilities during COVID-19 pandemic conditions in Eastern European countries

Abstract

The purpose of the academic paper lies in identifying the practice of organizing treatment in emergency health care facilities in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic on the example of Poland and the Czech Republic. The qualitative content analysis of the organization of emergency medical care in the conditions of a pandemic in Poland and the Czech Republic has been used in the research. The COVID-19 Health System Response Monitor (HSRM) database and the Health Systems and Policy Monitor (HSPM) database have been used for conducting the analysis. In the course of the research, the following features of changes in the organization of treatment in emergency health care facilities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic have been revealed, namely: postponement of scheduled examinations, non-urgent treatment, gradual reduction in the number of hospitalizations, especially for planned surgical interventions; limiting the availability of medical care; prohibition of regular vacations of medical workers; redeployment of personnel in case of deterioration of the condition of patients with COVID-19 and the need for the provision of emergency medical care; daily monitoring of intensive care beds and their filling status to predict the possible need for emergency care.