Emergency Department Doctor in Hong Kong: Rushing to the front line again after the epidemic
Dr. Chan finally got what he wanted a few days ago. Retired from the "battlefield" of Hong Kong's fight against the epidemic due to the epidemic, he finally returned to the front line of the fight against the epidemic. He is a post-90s generation who works for the Emergency Department of Tuen Mun Hospital, one of the busiest emergency departments in Hong Kong.
In an interview with a reporter on March 17, Dr. Chen said that he had just seen the rapid antigen detection box, and the two lines were finally missing one, "Today's self-test is negative, if tomorrow is still negative, you can rework." ”
Although Dr. Chen in front of the camera occasionally coughed, the eagerness to return to work to save people was overflowing.
Patient surges Emergency departments are overwhelmed
Before the outbreak of the fifth wave in Hong Kong, the emergency department of Tuen Mun Hospital received an average of about 600 patients per day. Dr Chan said: "This figure is already very exaggerated in Hong Kong. But after the fifth wave of the outbreak, the number of patients per day has risen geometrically, and he has never felt so difficult after 7 years in the emergency department. He told reporters that on weekdays, although patients are endless, there are only single digits waiting in the lobby. However, the number of patients waiting in the lobby has increased nearly a hundredfold recently, and "at its worst, there may be 200 patients waiting in the lobby." ”
In the face of a sudden influx of a large number of cases, every medical staff in Tuen Mun Hospital is under great pressure, and the key is that severe patients with COVID-19 need a lot of medical support. In the past, Dr. Chen's job was to classify patients according to their condition and do some simple treatments, and then send patients to a specialist for further diagnosis. But now, we need to treat a large number of patients at the same time, after the patient's condition is stable, how to allocate the isolation bed that has long been saturated is also a big problem, "Many times we give the patient a doctor, the information of the previous patient has not returned to our hands, we have to go to see the next patient, so it can only be in the processing of the previous patient's end of the work and in the new patient alternate work." ”
Like many public hospitals, Tuen Mun Hospital faces a serious shortage of equipment and beds. Dr. Chen told reporters that in early March, some patients may need to wait for five or six days to arrange hospitalization, although the hospital then vacated 50% of the beds for confirmed covid-19 patients, but they also need to wait for a day or so to be hospitalized, "this is not ideal," he admitted, the fifth wave of the epidemic is the biggest challenge he has encountered since his work, although he has long seen the habit of life and death, but seeing a large number of patients stranded in the emergency room, it is difficult to fully take care of every patient, or let the medical staff feel a sense of helpless loss. "We all want to help every patient, but a person only has two hands, there are only two hands, there is a limit to what can be done, it is difficult to arrange everyone properly, so there will always be some negative emotions in the heart." Fortunately, many patients and families are very considerate of our pressure and will take the initiative to help, and I have seen a lot of human brilliance. He said.
A large number of medically infected people are seriously understaffed
The fifth wave of COVID-19, which swept through Hong Kong like a tsunami, weighed on the public healthcare system. According to data released by the HA, as of 15 March, a total of 15,766 health care workers were infected, accounting for 19% of the total. Dr. Chen said that more than a dozen colleagues in the emergency department have been unable to return to work due to the epidemic, the hospital is seriously understaffed, and the medical staff who stick to their posts are facing a huge workload. In order to maintain emergency room services, medical staff are exhausted, overtime has become a common thing, and even too busy to eat and drink. Colleagues who have been diagnosed will return to the hospital immediately after the rapid test results turn negative. "Fortunately, colleagues have been vaccinated, even if diagnosed, almost all of them are mild diseases, and after a few days of rest at home, they can basically recover their health." Colleagues are happy to come back to work, and everyone understands that there is indeed a shortage of manpower here. ”
Dr. Chen said his symptoms would be more severe, with fever, cough and sore throat for the first two days, but on the third day they began to get better.
"It is really invincible", recalling his experience of contracting the epidemic, Dr. Chen smiled helplessly, "Our protective equipment is in line with international standards, and the number is sufficient, there is no need to reuse, and I still can't figure out why I was 'recruited'." He cautioned that Omiljung is by no means as simple as the flu, that the infectivity and symptoms are much more severe, and that vaccination is still a necessary means to reduce severe illness and mortality.
After the diagnosis, Dr. Chen was not hospitalized, but adopted the method of home isolation. He told reporters that at present, he lives with his wife, and during the quarantine period, the two will try to be separated, and move in their respective fixed areas, insist on wearing masks and washing hands frequently, which is still an effective way to avoid infection. "At that time, I was most worried about infecting my wife and other colleagues, and if one more person was diagnosed, it meant that other colleagues had to work more and add pressure to them."
Mainland support solves Hong Kong's urgent needs
In the face of the severe epidemic prevention and control situation in Hong Kong, on March 14, 75 mainland medical personnel aiding Hong Kong arrived in Hong Kong, and on the 16th, the central government sent another 300 medical personnel to support Hong Kong. Dr Chan said that the whole hong Kong medical team is in a very difficult moment and is very welcome and grateful for the arrival of the mainland medical team. He believes that although the medical systems of the two places are different, it will not hinder cooperation, and mainland medical staff can provide help in diagnosis and treatment, "Mainland support is definitely to solve Hong Kong's urgent needs, and in any case, the mainland needs to be appreciated and encouraged to help." He looks forward to the opportunity to exchange and cooperate with mainland medical staff in the future.
When asked why he didn't take a few more days off and rushed to the "battlefield", Dr. Chen said, because he wanted to return to the front line as soon as possible to help colleagues and help patients, "At that time, there was a feeling of returning to the battlefield with energy and strength, and I was also worried about the second time, after all, the fever was very hard, but some colleagues said that as long as they were infected, it was King Kong's not bad body," he said, "His idea is not to talk about sacrificing himself so noblely, just because he is a doctor, he must help patients, this is a sense of mission." ”
【Reporter】Chen Chen (from Hong Kong)
【Intern】Liu Yurong
【Author】
Hong Kong today