The Prefectural Chubu District Medical Association is sounding alarm bells as the seasonal flu cases threaten to overwhelm the emergency medical services of the hospitals in the middle part of the island.

Officials at the association announced on Feb. 20th that the emergency medical services in the middle part of the island are facing a critical situation because of a sharp increase of influenza patients.

According to association officials, the area emergency hospitals, including the Prefectural Chubu Hospital, Nakagami Hospital, Chubu Tokushukai Hospital and Heart Life Hospital, so many people with influenza are visiting the emergency clinics they have had to implement controls and direct outpatients who are not in medical emergency situation to go elsewhere, and also make inpatients leave the hospital early, or postpone planned hospitalizations when possible. They are especially concerned that it will soon become hard for them to accept patients who are severely ill with something other than influenza.

The emergency hospital officials are asking people to go to see private medical doctors and clinics instead of coming to the emergency hospital clinics, especially during nights and holidays if their condition is not serious.

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