The coronavirus will generate a huge number of persons with disabilities due to the consequences of this disease, as the Spanish Society for Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine (SERMEF) warns.
Covid patients with physical consequences will join the bulky waiting lists that the National Health System already has to face with great difficulty due to the constant increase in population aging, which is leading to a higher prevalence of diseases Chronicles associated with disability, as indicated by Dr. Carolina de Miguel Benadiba, President of the SERMEF.
The highest representative of rehabilitation physicians in Spain indicates that “attention to the sequelae of chronic diseases associated with aging, together with those of Covid-19, will cause serious problems and a crisis to absorb such demand that can put the limit to the Health System”.
“The consequences of aging are a reality, and there are real difficulties in the National Health System to respond to them. There are more than 4 million people with disabilities, according to the Survey on Disability, Personal Autonomy, and Dependency Situations, to which we must add Covid-19 patients” said Dr. De Miguel.
“To these lists, we must add people with coronavirus sequelae, which are usually mainly respiratory and neuromuscular. They translate into significant muscle loss and functional deficits that negatively impact the quality of life of patients and their families and caregivers. For example, the post-ICU syndrome produces sequelae due to sustained immobility that can be very long-lasting, even after discharge from hospital” said Dr. Carolina.
