First Cardiology Consultants have been getting ready for this for over 3 months when we saw what was happening elsewhere. We decided early to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. So we embarked on some construction work to make it safe for our staff and patients with work flow redesign, installation of air filtration/purification systems etc.
There was a lot of IPC training (Infection Prevention Control) for all our staff. It is very important that our staff and patients are always protected. In the U.K., there are 6 patients to one nurse and probably one doctor to about 20. We have 1 nurse per patient, one mid-level doctor for a max of 3 patients 3 senior consultants for a 5 bed ICU. It is rather complicated to have an ICU outside the hospital setting. It is not just ventilators. Once you are on a ventilator it means you are on life support the management of which is very complicated and takes years of training.
The 5-10% of cases that require regular ICU care are some of the most complicated patients most of us will ever see. It is not just the lungs. It causes multi system damage that requires multiple specialists. (Critical care, pulmonary, cardiology, nephrology, radiology). There are daily updates from around the world from all the specialists taking care of these patients. We have set up telemedicine in the ICU so the number of people in the ICU is kept to the barest minimum, that way we reduce exposure to the clinical personnel.
It is also used to communicate and share ideas with our colleagues around the world. More importantly, the COVID-19 ICU that is exclusively reserved for critically ill patients is separated from the rest of the hospital. Any patient who is admitted into the ICU will enter directly through a separate entrance without any contact with the rest of the hospital. The rest of the hospital is in addition, further protected by screening all patients before entry. And if there is any suspicion at all, the patients are sent to IDH to be tested. All staff are screened at least twice daily. As always, we hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
Accreditation Notice
Pursuant to the announcement from the Presidency, we regret to officially inform you of the passing away of the Chief of Staff to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mallam Abba Kyari on Friday 17th April 2020. He passed away from complications of Coronavirus infection at First Cardiology Consultants in Lagos. This hospital is a Lagos State designated high care, biosecurity-compliant, COVID-19 facility, accredited by the Health Facility Management and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) of the Lagos State Ministry of Health.
As a basis for accreditation, First Cardiology Consultants established a separate specialist wing with staff dedicated to the treatment of complicated cases of COVID-19, under the supervision of the Lagos State COVID-19 emergency response team. The Lagos State Government expresses its sincere condolences to His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari and the immediate family of the late Mallam Kyari.
