If COVID-19 Spreads in Psychiatric Hospitals, Coordinate Treatment with Nearby Private Psychiatric Hospitals

Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, Measures for Psychiatric Hospital Cluster Infection
339 Confirmed Cases in 6 Hospitals Since Mid-Last Month

On the 4th, medical staff are collecting specimens at the temporary screening clinic of Eunpyeong-gu Office in Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] As confirmed cases increase due to a cluster outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in psychiatric hospitals, the government has decided to establish a patient treatment system in cooperation with private psychiatric hospitals. A regional network will be organized so that when a patient is identified in one hospital, the possibility of infection is assessed and patients are dispersed to other nearby psychiatric hospitals.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters of the Ministry of Health and Welfare reported on the status of cluster infections in psychiatric hospitals and facilities at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the 6th. According to authorities, since the 15th of last month, cluster infections in psychiatric hospitals have spread mainly in the Chungbuk region, resulting in a total of 339 confirmed cases across six hospitals as of this date.

Psychiatric hospitals, like other medical and nursing institutions, have densely concentrated patients and require complex care, making it easy for the virus to spread into cluster infections once introduced. Because COVID-19 treatment must be combined with psychiatric care, more personnel are needed than for general confirmed cases, and even after treatment and release from isolation, patients must continue to be hospitalized.

Accordingly, when cluster infections spread in psychiatric hospitals and facilities, a separate response team within the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters will be dispatched to the site to cooperate with local government quarantine authorities to implement measures for confirmed cases. Since cohort isolation measures for the facility could be risky, contacts will be dispersed. Asymptomatic and mild confirmed cases will be transferred to dedicated psychiatric treatment beds at the National Mental Health Center, Masan Hospital, and Eumseong St. Mary’s Hospital. Severe confirmed cases or those with underlying conditions will be transferred to infectious disease specialized hospitals. Currently, a closed ward at Cheongju Medical Center is being prepared as a dedicated ward with 60 beds.

While transferring confirmed cases, contacts among inpatients will be dispersed to the National Gongju Hospital or Bugok Hospital. To facilitate rapid turnover of dedicated treatment beds, beds for patients released from isolation have been prepared at the National Naju Hospital and National Chuncheon Hospital. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters stated, "Although the turnover rate of dedicated treatment beds is being maintained, it is time to secure additional beds in preparation for successive cluster infections in psychiatric hospitals and facilities."

To secure additional beds, a regional COVID-19 psychiatric hospital network will be established targeting private psychiatric hospitals. Through related associations and organizations, regional networks will be formed to quickly assess whether additional measures are needed when confirmed cases occur and to promptly disperse inpatients. When network hospitals accept inpatients or patients released from isolation from COVID-19 outbreak hospitals, they can claim infection prevention management fees and isolation room hospitalization fees.

To smoothly transfer confirmed cases with worsening COVID-19 symptoms and severe patients, a referral communication system will be established between the National Mental Health Center and tertiary general hospitals. Preventive activities such as proactive testing of psychiatric hospital and facility workers will also be conducted to prevent cluster infections.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.