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2019: all these empty hospitals with too much staff and no patients?! Let's close them down, save some money! 2020: why is our medical system running at 90% ca
by tomp 6y ago
2019: all these empty hospitals with too much staff and no patients?! Let's close them down, save some money!
2020: why is our medical system running at 90% capacity in normal times?! Why don't we have some idle capacity for emergencies (natural disaster, pandemic, war)?
- rualca 6y agoBaseline capacity and the ability to scale up to withstand peaks are two separate things.
- majewsky 6y agoThis may apply to equipment and even buildings to a certain extent, but qualified nurses are not something you can just purchase off the shelf like a new rack of servers when demand is high. This applies doubly so for intensive care, which even regular (i.e. non-ICU) nurses are not qualified for without prior training. Where are those people going to come from when demand peaks?
- rualca 6y ago> This may apply to equipment and even buildings to a certain extent, but qualified nurses are not something you can just purchase off the shelf like a new rack of servers when demand is high. Professional training is not the same as hiring people to idle. See how emergency response services mobilize in case of any emergency scenario, and how that does not involve hiring armies of firemen and police officers to idle by.