How do chronic illness patients fare amid Covid-19 resource diversion?

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Chronic illness patients are left at risk of delayed, sub-optimal, or interrupted care as hospitals divert beds, ventilators, and operating theatres to Covid-19 cases.

Chronic illness patients with diabetes, heart conditions, epilepsy, and similar long-term diseases still need hospital beds, ventilators, and functioning operating theatres, but those resources are being used for Covid-19 patients. With hospitals at 80 per cent capacity, some already at 100 per cent, the pressure is severe, and the full effect on non-Covid-19 patients is not yet known.
Hospital capacity is being consumed by Covid-19 demand
Daily case numbers have crossed the 6,000 mark, and reports describe long queues at low-risk centres where patients wait hours for a bed. The army is setting up field ICUs, while private hospitals are also nearing capacity. This leaves less room for patients who need urgent treatment for conditions unrelated to Covid-19.
Chronic disease care is being pushed to the margins
Patients with diabetes and heart conditions still require medical treatment, hospital beds, ventilators, and operating theatres, yet these are now being allocated to Covid-19 patients. That means non-Covid-19 patients may not receive care at the same pace or level as before. The concern is not only shortage, but also the possibility of worsening illness when treatment is delayed.
Delays can turn manageable illness into ICU cases
Some patients avoid coming to hospital because they expect a long admission, and when they finally arrive they may already have multiple complications. The examples given include diabetic patients with gangrenous limbs needing urgent amputations and heart patients going into heart failure after not restricting fluid intake. These cases show how delay can escalate into intensive care needs.
The wider impact on non-Covid-19 patients is still unclear
The full number of chronic illness patients affected by sub-optimal or delayed care is not known. The concern is that some may deteriorate because resources are stretched thin, even if they are not infected with Covid-19. The situation is described as one where doctors fear that no one will come when help is needed, simply because the system does not have enough resources.

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How do chronic illness patients fare amid Covid-19 resource diversion?

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