The triage posts by general practitioners to detect infections of the new coronavirus (Covid-19) will be phased out slightly from Monday.
Last month, the posts were set up at 90 locations in Flanders, in order to examine possible coronavirus patients in a safe way and send them on to the hospital if necessary. As fewer and fewer patients have visited the last few days, especially in smaller triage stations, a number of stations will be closed from Monday, according to the Belga press agency.
Smaller posts will be able to merge into a single central post for an entire region, but the intention is to keep 60 posts open, which is about 1 per 100,000 Flemish people. Additionally, from Monday, the triage posts may also limit their opening hours locally.
"The triage stations have worked well so far," said Roel Van Giel from GP association Domus Medica to VRT. "In this way, the work has remained manageable for both the general practitioners and the emergency services," he added.
Domus Medica follows the situation closely, and can decide at any time to reopen more triage posts, if it turns out that more patients are again being referred by their GP.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
