Zhongxin Wanghai, 4 April (Reporter Fan Yubin) -- This year marks the 8th anniversary of the dispatch of China's foreign aid medical teams, and groups of Chinese doctors have crossed continents and oceans, becoming "white-clothed angels" who save lives and help the wounded and "friendly messengers" who transmit friendship.
Shanghai has been assisting Moroccan medical care since 1975. Recently, Yu Yuejian, a member of the Jiusan Society, the leader of the Tazar Medical Detachment of the Chinese Medical Team Aid to Morocco, and the deputy chief physician of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of Shanghai Seventh People's Hospital, was interviewed by a reporter from Chinanews.com to talk about his experience of assisting Morocco.
In December 2022, Yu Yuewan went to Morocco with the 12th batch of Chinese medical teams to carry out medical assistance work in Morocco for two years, and her Taza medical detachment worked in Tazai Benm-Baga Provincial Central Hospital, with a total of 195 team members, including 12 multidisciplinary doctors, 10 cook and 1 translator sent by Shanghai Seventh People's Hospital.
Yu Yuejian told reporters that Taza is located in the mountainous area of north-central Morocco, with a vast land and a sparsely populated environment, with water and power cuts from time to time, great wind and sand, lack of green leafy vegetables and aquatic products, and more than 300 kilometers away from the capital Rabat.
Yu Yuejian (second from left) examines the patient. Read the photo courtesy
Four years ago, as an ordinary tourist, Yu Yuewan traveled to Morocco, and she was deeply impressed by the colorful Morocco. Now, as a foreign aid doctor, Yu Yuejian has come to Morocco again to treat diseases and deliver health to the Moroccan people. "My family was very supportive of this support, and my father felt that 'this is a rare experience in life, it is very honorable'."
As the captain, Yu Yuejian was under a lot of pressure, "I have to deal with all kinds of things that happen in the team, from communicating with the local health department and the recipient hospital on medical affairs, to the sanitation of the medical team's station, buying vegetables and water, and all of them must be arranged one by one." I have to put a good attitude, take care of the team members, and everyone will do their job well, live a good life, and go home safely. ”
Medical safety is the top priority of the medical detachment. Due to the old equipment and equipment of the local hospital, the team members were very uncomfortable at first. "When I first started working, I once saw a patient with severe parotid gland trauma that needed debridement and sutures, but there was no sterile gauze in the emergency room, no needle forceps, and the only vascular forceps that was not sterilized and difficult to make, such an operation was very risky and I could not do it. Through communication with the emergency room, the emergency nurse went to the central operating room to get the disinfectant gauze, and I took out the usual sterilized needle forceps, small vessel forceps, and forceps from the spare equipment of the medical team for debridement and suturing. The surgery went smoothly and the patient recovered well. Since then, Yu said, she has always had two sets of sterilized debridement sutures in the medical kit.
In the view of Yu Zhizhi, medical safety is the premise and the principle. "I think what can be changed is changed, and what cannot be changed is adapted and improved."
In addition to carrying out medical assistance work, the team regularly donates medical equipment and equipment to local hospitals. Recently, the Tazar Medical Detachment donated different types of medical equipment, consumables and equipment to the recipient hospitals, some of which filled the gaps in local hospitals and improved medical treatment capabilities.
Yu Yu said that a local child swallowed coins, and because the recipient hospital did not have the relevant equipment, the emergency doctor referred him to a large hospital more than 100 kilometers away for treatment, and an appointment was required. In the end, the child went back and forth twice, and after 2 days of pain, the operation was arranged. "We donated a set of esophagoscopy equipment to the recipient hospital to perform esophageal foreign body removal, and within two weeks of donation, I removed esophageal foreign bodies for two emergency patients."
Yu Yuejin found that in the recipient hospitals, many patients have limited economic conditions, and they often can't stay up until they go to the hospital for treatment. As a result, the team members often encountered very critical patients. "I have encountered some cases that I have only encountered in textbooks since I practiced medicine, sinusitis complicated by intracranial infection, headache and fever, nausea and vomiting; Tumor metastasis, facial cancer, nodule ulceration, skin absence, difficulty breathing... As a doctor, I try my best to treat, but sometimes there is only comfort. ”
The Tazar Medical Detachment, a medical team aided Morocco and donated medical supplies to the recipient hospitals. Read the photo courtesy
Compared with Chinese hospitals with perfect medical team support, in Morocco, the doctors of the medical team have to solve problems on their own in most cases. "In particular, obstetricians are under a lot of pressure, they have a large workload, the equipment is not smooth, the language communication is not smooth, the monitoring conditions are limited, and if the pregnant woman has postpartum hemorrhage, it is dangerous if it is not detected in time." Yu Yu said that they have formulated an emergency plan for this purpose: the team members complement each other, and surgeons, anesthesiologists, and translators are on standby at any time; If there is a major rescue, notify the intensive anesthesiologist and the head of the relevant department as soon as possible, and actively cooperate with the Morbian emergency team.
After 5 months, the team members gradually adapted to the local working environment. "We need better teamwork. I sometimes do surgery with local doctors. At first, I was worried about the language problem and it was difficult to communicate, but once we got on the operating table, our gestures and eyes knew what to do with each other, and we cooperated with each other very tacitly. ”
What touched Yu Yue the most was the heartfelt gratitude of the local patients to the doctor. "When I perform an operation on a patient, discharge a patient from the hospital, or finish treating a patient in the emergency room, they thank me sincerely. Although the language is not clear, I can read the gratitude from their body language. Some of them shook my hand excitedly, some burst into tears, and some hugged me and kissed me on the cheek. At that moment, it made me feel that everything was worth it, and it was also the best affirmation for me. ”
In order to better improve the team's business capabilities, Yuyue organized team members to conduct regular business learning and communicate with each other. They are also preparing to compile a manual on medical literacy and translate it into Chinese, French and Arabic, so that local patients can grasp some health knowledge.
In life, Yu Yuejian and the team members planted vegetables, ran at night, and played ball, and she also served as the female driver of the team, helping to go out to purchase daily necessities.
Members of the Tazar Medical Detachment of the Chinese Medical Team Aid Morocco celebrated their birthdays. Read the photo courtesy
"When I first arrived in Morocco, everyone was trying to adapt and adjust their mentality. Some team members were infected with the new crown, were in poor health, and missed their families in Shanghai, and their mood was depressed; Some team members work intensely, stressed, and do not sleep well. I want to always encourage everyone to combine work and rest, relax and not tighten the strings too tightly. Yu Yu said.
"Every team member's birthday is the most grand holiday." "On this day, we make cakes, write greeting cards, take group photos, and the chef will cook a large table of hearty dishes, so that the team members can feel the warmth of the big family, which not only regulates the tense pace of work, but also will be a good memory after a few years." ”
Yu Yue likes to record the bits and pieces of the aid to motorcycles, and make a short video to send to the circle of friends, so that more people can understand the Chinese medical team to help motorcycles. "Now that communication is developed, we can do some self-media publicity by ourselves." In addition, compared with the loneliness of Dr. Mo in the early years, the team members can now video call their families at any time to ease their homesickness. Yu Yuejian and his family will video call every day, "My daughter is also studying medicine, and she is very proud of me. I often encourage her to study hard and better contribute to society in the future if she has the skills. ”
This year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Morocco, and Chinese doctors have long become a golden business card in the local area, which has been highly recognized and trusted by the local people. The Taza medical detachment went to the mountainous countryside several times with local doctors. Yu Yu saw that the mountain road was very rough, but the local villagers learned that Chinese doctors had come for free consultation, and they rushed donkeys from all over the world early in the morning to wait, "At that moment, we were more determined to save lives and help the wounded, and love boundlessly." ”
The Taza medical detachment also guards the health of the local diaspora. "We provide free medical consultations and health education for employees of Chinese-funded enterprises, and send commonly used drugs. The ophthalmologist in the team also performed eye surgery on an overseas Chinese compatriot, solving the pain that had plagued him for many years. Yu Yu talked about it, all of which made the overseas Chinese feel particularly warm. (End)