Ponta Delgada Hospital already has five negative pressure rooms in operation, announces Regional Secretary for Health
The Regional Secretary for Health announced that five negative pressure rooms are already in operation at the Infectious Disease Services of Divino Espírito Santo Hospital (HDES) in Ponta Delgada, which has been providing care to COVID-19 patients since April 27.
Teresa Machado Luciano pointed out that “an additional joint effort has been undertaken by the Government and the Board of Directors of the Hospital to anticipate the operation of these rooms on the island of São Miguel, initially scheduled for late May, with a view to reinforcing the prevention and containment of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The remaining five rooms, representing an overall investment of about 300 thousand Euros, should become operational by the end of May," said the Regional Secretary.
“If we add up the 13 rooms in operation at the Santo Espírito Hospital on Terceira Island, the number of operational negative pressure rooms in the Region now stands at 18 and, after the completion of the ongoing works on São Miguel Island by late May, it will increase to 23," stressed the government official.
Moreover, the Region also has 26 beds in Intensive Care Units, namely 14 at Divino Espírito Santo Hospital, eight at Santo Espírito Hospital and four at Horta Hospital.
Negative pressure rooms facilitate the prevention of infection in a hospital environment, seeing that they have lower atmospheric pressure and are equipped with air filtering systems to prevent the spread of viruses.
Each room has a specific support area for professionals, where they put on and remove personal protective equipment.