The COVID-19 pandemic has not only put our social and economic well-being at risk due to the extended periods of lockdown, but it has also had an impact on the total number of planned surgeries performed around the world. All other illnesses and disorders have simply taken a backseat to COVID-19, which is currently playing the main role. The severity of all other fatal illnesses and non-COVID-19 conditions is downplayed as if they cannot take a person's life. However, there isn't any other option than to eradicate the killer coronavirus before it spreads and consumes the entire planet.
The most recent research indicates that this year, COVID-19 may prevent close to 30 million planned procedures worldwide. If the pandemic's peak interruption period of 12 weeks is taken into consideration, then almost 30 million scheduled surgical procedures would either be postponed or cancelled, depending on the timetable. The impact of every additional week of interrupted healthcare services would be approximately 3 million cases lost.
According to a recent survey by a team of British academics, the aforementioned numbers were calculated from data gathered from 359 surgeons in 71 nations, with the survey results statistically extrapolated to 190 countries. During the pandemic's peak disruption period, it is predicted that nearly 75% of the planned procedures will be postponed globally. Researchers estimate that 2.3 million cancer surgeries would be non-operative. The most affected treatments would be orthopaedic ones, with almost 6.5 million cancelled globally.
A study by an international group estimates that the novel coronavirus pandemic's peak intensity will force India to postpone or cancel approximately 600,000 scheduled procedures. Patients who need robotic surgery and minimal access have panicked since it has caused the planned surgeries to be delayed.
Health insurance would suffer if planned surgeries were postponed, which might lead to further financial strain. Most hospitals are now worn out as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 issue. With the looming uncertainty, it is placing hospitals in an even more difficult financial position.
It is necessary to strike a balance between the COVID-19 pandemic's treatment and management, as well as the acceptance of scheduled surgeries in facilities that do not handle COVID-19 patients. Undoubtedly, the misery and frustration experienced by non-COVID-19 cannot be disregarded at the same time.
India is still working to level the daily positive case graph that is growing. The likelihood of COVID-19 spreading in a large hospital grows when more people arrive for prearranged surgical procedures due to the breakdown of social distance. Additionally, there should be enough PPEs available for medical staff both inside and outside the operating room before the scheduled surgical procedures are resumed.
Let's get to the subject now and discuss why scheduled procedures are being cancelled. First off, operating rooms need ventilators for the intended cases, however, in this situation, supporting COVID-19 patients is given priority. Second, the medical staff is already fatigued from dealing with the pandemic and will likely only become more so in the days to come. Many have "martyred" themselves while tending to afflicted patients. Finally, even in non-emergency situations, PPEs like masks, gloves, and gowns have already started to lose their effectiveness due to the daily increase in the number of unique coronavirus cases.
The question of when the surgical treatments that have been postponed will be completed by the anticipated deadline now emerges. How quickly the COVID-19 situation is resolved will determine everything. However, regrettably, the pandemic's trajectory, in reality, is steeply ascending rather than level. Therefore, it can be concluded that now the novel coronavirus will persist in our population for some time. If this is the case, it is difficult to forecast whether the previously postponed non-emergency surgical treatments will proceed.