Scaling-up Preparedness and Response for COVID-19 in Northwest Syria through implementing health services to people in need. The project aims to respond to the most urgent needs identified by the cluster and health directorate, where the targeted intervention is built on the dire need of high severity areas in NWS and will provide life-saving and life-sustaining humanitarian assistance to people in need. The project will apply facility-based approach in providing quality isolation and case management services and will contribute to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and decrease morbidity and mortality through filling critical and life-saving gaps in response to COVID-19 outbreak.
Within the beginning of COVID19 response, SEMA applied to the reserve allocation of SCHF to establish a specialized hospital for case management of moderate and severe cases that could be faced during the pandemic, with complete coordination with Health cluster, COVID19 TF, and case management TWG, thus, Idleb Isolation Hospital (Known as Karlton), a central hospital for COVID19 in NWS, located in Idleb City, which is considered as one of the biggest eight referral facilities for COVID19 in NWS according to Idleb Health Directorate, WHO and COVID19 Taskforce, with the capacity of ( 60 ward beds, 10 ICU beds, 10 Ventilators, Laboratory Dep, X-Ray Dep, 62 employees ) got born out and supported until 15 Jan 2021.
SEMA, under the successful partnership with SCHF, aims to complement and build on the impact and learnt lessons of the current project (the dire need to increase the staff number as the nature of this project differs from other health projects and there was a high pressure and over-load on the staff where SEMA responded to that by hiring additional staff from the private fund) by supporting one of the key isolation hospitals in Idleb governorate which witnesses an explosion in the registered suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases.
The Hospital received up to 10 Nov 2020: 254 COVID-19 patients: 106 Ward men, 34 ICU men, 83 Ward women, 7 ICU women, and it has been reported to the COVID19 TF and Idleb health directorate on daily basis. As NWS is entering to the first peak of the epidemic, the hospital currently is considered as a very crucial facility to be supported, as, since 10/10/2020, the percentage of occupations of ICU beds is not lower than 90%, and the general percentage of occupations is around 83% on average. Under this project, SEMA is planning to increase the capacity of the hospital to cope with the increasing needs by increasing the number of staff and supplying the hospital with 10 ICU beds, 10 CPAP devices, and PT device for ICU patients.
The project also will raise the capacity of staff in dealing with moderate and severe cases, in addition to activating tele–medicine through 11 ICU specialists from SEMA advisors around the world, who will follow up the cases periodically.
The hospital is linked to the referral system of the Idleb Health Directorate, where there is constant coordination between health centers and isolation hospitals.
Severe cases, whom could be decided to be in need for isolation hospitals, are accepted according to the vacancy and the case status either in the ward or in the ICU. There are about 45 ambulances distributed over Idleb governorate and its countryside where 10 of these ambulances are equipped with mobile ventilators.
The Health Directorate coordinates admissions among the health facilities, CCTGs and isolation hospitals through WhatsApp groups.
When the patient (tested positive) arrives at the hospital by ambulance s/he enters the triage room and the physician examines and evaluates him and he requests x-rays and medical analysis, and if the case is suspected, a special triage form and an admission file are filled out, vital signs and analysis are recorded in the file, medicine is prescribed, then the patient's condition is monitored by physicians and nurses until he is discharged from the hospital.