May be an inconvenient truth for the hospitals in Japan.
People can live longer with less hospital services.
A local magazine reports -
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(Including the covid victims)
The number of deaths in Japan has decreased by 15,000 from the previous year.
"Internal conflict" broke out at Asahikawa Medical University Hospital in Hokkaido over the response of patients with the new coronavirus. On February 1, the former hospital director who was dismissed in conflict with the president submitted a request to the university to withdraw the dismissal.
This conflict began in last November. It was that a new corona cluster occurred at Yoshida Hospital in Asahikawa City. As the number of infected people and deaths increased rapidly and the community medicine was in danger of collapsing, Asahikawa Medical University Hospital, which is a core hospital, refused to accept corona patients from Yoshida Hospital.
"It was reported that the president of Asahikawa Medical University refused to accept the patient, saying,'There is no choice but to completely eliminate that hospital' and 'If you accept the patient, you (former hospital director) should quit.' If accepted, it seems that he hated the decrease in bed occupancy rate to prevent infectious diseases. "(Local newspaper reporter)
Health economics journalist Kazutatsu Muroi says.
"When we accept new corona patients, hospitals have to take thorough infection control measures and carry management risks. In other words, surgery and consultations are suppressed, which leads to a decrease in 'sales'."
Even in hospitals that do not accept new corona patients, there are "pre-examination refrains" that are afraid of corona infection, mainly among the elderly. According to a survey by the Japan Hospital Association and others, the average profit margin of 1459 hospitals nationwide dropped by about 10% from April to June last year.
A strange phenomenon occurred in Japan while large hospitals did not accept patients and the number of ordinary people who went to the hospital decreased sharply. The increase in the number of refraining from consultation after the outbreak of the new corona caused the health condition of the people to deteriorate, and I thought that the number of deaths would increase, but on the contrary, the number of deaths decreased.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's vital statistics bulletin released on January 19, the death toll from January to November last year was about 1.25 million, a decrease of about 15,000 from the same period of the previous year. Although the death toll of the new Corona surged in December in the third wave, the death toll throughout the year is expected to fall below the previous year's level for the first time in 11 years.
The world is exactly the opposite. In the United States, the death toll from mid-March to November last year exceeded the number of deaths expected from past statistics by about 360,000. Last year's deaths in the UK also exceeded an estimate of 80,000 based on the average over the last five years. Why did the death toll decrease in Japan despite the outbreak of the new corona? Makoto Kondo, a doctor and author of "47 Tips for Not Being Killed by Doctors," points out.
"When you go to the hospital for a doctor's consultation or surgery, there is a risk that the patient's condition will worsen due to malpractice or over-medical care. May have brought it. "
Many doctors are treating patients at the risk of their lives to save them. However, the fact that the death toll has decreased by 15,000 year-on-year shows the inconvenient truth that "the death toll will decrease if you do not go to the hospital".
Source: Monthly magazine "女性セブン (Josei Sebun = Women's Seven)" February 18, 2021 issue
日本の死者数が前年より1.5万人減 コロナ禍の「受診控え」が一因か