(Fighting against New Coronary Pneumonia) Interview with frontline medical care in Hong Kong: stick to the post in difficult times
China News Agency, Hong Kong, March 3rd, title: Interview with frontline medical care in Hong Kong: stick to the post in difficult times
China News Agency reporter Han Xingtong
In early March, Hong Kong has recovered after several waves of cold waves, and spring has come slowly.
The row of blue tents outside the emergency room of Tuen Mun Hospital, which used to shelter the patients who were diagnosed with new coronary pneumonia when it was cold, is now more than half empty, and the beds have already been moved indoors.
Several confirmed elderly people looked out through the glass windows, and heavily armed medical staff shuttled between them from time to time to confirm their physical conditions.
In the open space outside the emergency room, Deng Zixia, a doctor from the Intensive Care Department of Tuen Mun Hospital, took 15 minutes out of her busy schedule to be interviewed by a reporter from China News Agency.
She was wearing a protective cap and mask, and her hair was soaked with sweat on the brim of the hat.
To enter the isolation ward to take care of patients, she also has to wear a mask and protective clothing.
Under the fifth wave of the epidemic, the number of new coronary pneumonia patients who have to stay in the intensive care unit has surged. "Our work is under a lot of pressure." Deng Zixia said frankly that this pressure comes from two aspects, lack of resources and shortage of manpower.
Ideally, in the intensive care unit, the ideal ratio of nurses to patients should be maintained at 1:1, but this ratio is currently difficult to maintain. "Many medical staff cannot return to work due to infection or quarantine. It is very difficult for us to deal with so many patients suddenly.”
Patients with new coronary pneumonia who stay in the intensive care unit usually have very serious complications, even multiple organ failure, requiring intubation and the use of ventilators. It may not be as good as imagined." In the reality that hospital beds and medical equipment are limited, "Frankly, it is difficult to handle every patient well. Although we know that some patients need support, there are no extra beds, really. It's a pity." Deng Zixia felt sorry for this.
Among these patients, she remembered an uncle who had multiple organ failure and worsening kidney function when he was transferred to the intensive care unit. "We have expected that even if we exhaust all methods, his condition may not be improved, and we also expected that he will pass away." The uncle's wife was also infected and is being treated in isolation.
Even if he went to the end of his life, the two never met again, and it became a lifelong regret.
Talking about it again, Deng Zixia was still sighing.
Deng Zixia's husband is also a front-line medical nurse and works in the emergency room. "He faces a (number of) huge number of patients every day, not only patients with new crowns, but also patients with multiple traumas, such as those injured in traffic accidents or seeking medical treatment for other acute illnesses. The patient.” The two stick to their respective lines of defense, do their best to take care of the patient, and occasionally encourage and cheer each other on in their spare time.
In order to avoid infecting their elderly parents with chronic illnesses at home, the couple have not been home for a long time. "What we are most worried about is not infecting ourselves, but infecting our family members."
In the past few days, the number of first-time consultations in the A&E department of a public hospital in Hong Kong has remained at around 4,000, and the problem of insufficient manpower also exists here.
Chen Zizhong, the operation manager and nurse of the Accident and Emergency Department of Tuen Mun Hospital, told reporters that only 20% of the staff in the Accident and Emergency Department of Tuen Mun Hospital have been diagnosed, and the number is still rising.
In order to maintain the emergency room service, the medical staff are exhausted, working overtime has become commonplace, and "will not even remember to leave work."
"The medical staff in Hong Kong are in a very difficult time." Chen Zizhong has worked in the A&E department for 28 years and has never seen such a difficult time.
The difficulty of the operation of the emergency room is that tens of thousands of patients are diagnosed every day, resulting in many patients needing emergency treatment at the same time.
When the patient's condition is stable, how to allocate the already saturated isolation beds is another big problem.
"But there are always more solutions than difficulties. We still stick to our posts, because it is our duty of emergency medical care to save the dying and help the wounded." It's just that when a large number of patients are stranded in the A&E department, and the order of treatment is determined by priority, it is difficult to fully take care of every patient. It seems that this makes the medical staff inevitably suffer a helpless loss.
The community's support for medical care has continued. Some organizations have donated materials, launched applause actions, and a large number of netizens on social media have spontaneously sent messages to support them. These sentiments have already been conveyed. Chen Zizhong thanked the support of mainland and Hong Kong citizens.
What touched him the most was the new "Under the Lion Rock" adapted to pay tribute to medical care. This classic old song has inspired generations of Hong Kong people.
There is a lyric, "Who doesn't love Hong Kong deeply", when Chen Zizhong said it, his eyes were already red, and the familiar melody was still in his ears.
(over)