surge capacity

The increase in numbers of patients has brought to light this term which was part of hospital jargon. The surge capacity of a hospital is a measure of its ability to handle a sudden increase in patients. It is dependent on staff, equipment, supplies, the need to isolate patients and prevent the spread of the disease. In the case of COVID-19 these requirements are great.

 A patient surge is defined as a sudden marked increase in the number of patients present at the hospital, many more than the hospital can deal with, particularly in the emergency department. It is not necessarily caused by disease. It could be a mass casualty incident. Hospitals need to have a plan for such a circumstance, the most drastic being to build more pop-up hospitals.