Is the Polish health care system prepared to fight the epidemic? Is the order to cover the mouth and nose a good idea? Doctor Maciej Niwiński, chairman of the Board of the Silesian Region of the CMPA, in an interview with Medexpress talks about the most common mistakes when wearing masks. – A badly used mask becomes a biological bomb – warns the expert.
Martyna Chmielewska, Medexpress: Coronavirus is still taking its death toll around the world. The number of infected is over 2 million. In the USA, almost 640 thousand people have already been found. infections – the largest number in the world. The death toll from the virus exceeded 137. The largest number is in the USA – 30. In Poland, over 8 people are infected. Over 300 patients have died. Recently, we hear that this data is underestimated because too few tests are performed …
Maciej Niwiński, Chairman of the Board of the Silesian Region OZZL: It’s hard for me to say if we are doing too few tests. I do not have such a general overview on a national scale.
Bartosz Fiałek, chairman of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region of OZZL, said in an interview with Medexpress that he is calling for an on-demand test for every health care worker. What do you think about that?
The test must be objective. The worst thing is that there are false negative results. Apparently, one country bought tests from some uncertified company in China and it came out 60-80 percent. false negative results. This means that people who were convinced that they were healthy were released into the streets of cities. If so, there are no worse things. Hospital workers, cleaning crews, and disinfectants who come across infected patients can also be infected. Each test should produce an objective result. It must be a quality test performed at the right time.
How many doctors in your region are infected and how many are in quarantine?
I know my fellow doctors who are in quarantine, at home.
What are the biggest problems doctors face at work?
We lack tens of thousands of doctors who were de facto expelled from Poland in the previous 30 years and are now fighting the pandemic in many other countries. Even with the gray scenario, more doctors will be needed. Equipment can be purchased and delivered to hospitals. It is much easier to do this than to find, for example, 20 well-trained doctors or 20 nurses.
See also: How many doctors are there in Poland? How old are they? [INFOGRAPHICS]
What will be the consequences of the coronavirus epidemic in Poland? Do you think hospitals could be paralyzed?
This is a black scenario. However, society must be trusted. I hope that it will abide by the conditions of distancing, isolation, and distraction and that this scenario will not happen. However, if it were to happen, it would be a very unpleasant thing. On the positive side, the lethality of the virus is limited. This is not the plague or Ebola that kills 100%. population. According to official WHO data, the death rate from coronavirus ranges from 0 to 10 percent. You must survive this epidemic until a vaccine is invented. I believe it will be invented. I wonder if in a moment each country will not be faced with a choice: is an economy that cannot collapse more important, or the lives of a few percent of people more important.
Also read: Experts predict when the vaccine will be ready
In April, Minister of Health Łukasz Szumowski in an interview with TVN’s “Fakty” reporter said that a vaccine against coronavirus may appear in several months …
Unfortunately, human testing is not omitted. The worst thing would be to introduce a vaccine that, instead of helping, could harm. The basic principle is “primum non nocere” (Latin: “first do no harm” – editor’s note). In the past, there have been mistakes in introducing a drug with serious complications outweighing the benefits. Excessive haste is not advisable. Certain procedures cannot be bypassed. People who know it well know it. Vaccines in my opinion will not be faster than in a year.
What do you think about the obligatory wearing of masks?
There are three groups of masks. Streetwear cannot be brought into hospitals as they are non-medical and not suitable for this purpose. The masks in which doctors operate are suitable for hospital use. There are also special anti-virus masks, which are not 100%, but 94-96%. protect against the virus.
You need to know how to apply masks. Educational videos are needed. Knowledge should be disseminated among the public. A badly used mask becomes a biological bomb. It hurts instead of helping. If someone wears a mask, they shouldn’t touch it with their fingers. This is where the greatest concentration of the virus may be. It is the same with gloves. Wearing them requires extensive education and getting used to. The virus is transmitted mainly by droplets, enters the mouth, nose and conjunctiva (there have been individual reports that no infection occurs through the conjunctiva). Some countries have made the wearing of masks compulsory for two reasons.
What kind?
First, society feels safer. Second, if we treat everyone who walks on the street as infected (including ourselves), we protect others from becoming infected. With a certain number of patients, the introduction of masks makes sense. However, this must be preceded by education on how to use them, how to throw them away, and how long to use the appropriate type of mask.
How do you evaluate the health care preparation for the fight against the coronavirus?
I always judge the preparation of health care to fight various diseases poorly. I have been working in health care for thirty years. Little has been done. We cannot even match the Czech Republic, let alone richer countries. The scale of neglect is gigantic. This is true of many health fields. This is combined with a chronic shortage of staff. There are hospitals in other countries, where even 3-4 times more doctors and other medical personnel are employed to perform the same procedures. There have always been other more important needs than health care. It has been neglected for 30 years. You can’t make up for it in two or five years. In infectious diseases hospitals, each room must have a separate full sanitary facility (if an individually isolated patient is to stay there). These conditions are not fully met in hospitals that are currently being converted to aliases.
In April, Deputy Minister of Health Waldemar Kraska informed journalists at a press conference that more hospitals to fight the coronavirus would be opened.
This is a rational move. Some facility managers will face a major challenge. About 1000 people die in Poland every day. It may turn out that we have infectious diseases hospitals, but we do not have anywhere to treat patients with stroke, heart attack, etc. Poland does not have the least hospital beds in Europe. The number of doctors is the lowest, of course when calculated on the basis of the number of inhabitants.
The conversation was published on the Medexpress website
Have a question about the coronavirus? Send them to the following address: [email protected]. You will find a daily updated list of answers HERE: Coronavirus – frequently asked questions and answers.
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