– A year ago, after the fall COVID-19 wave, I thought that nothing worse could happen to us. It turned out otherwise. We have another fatal wave of the pandemic, we are setting up respirators outside intensive care units. This is overlapped by the migration crisis. It is difficult for us to imagine what else could happen – says Dr. Tomasz Musiuk from the hospital in Hajnówka, where migrants go. How are they coping in such a difficult situation? What is the condition of the people being brought from the border? What are the situations in the hospital in connection with this? The doctor told Medonet about all this. The interview was conducted on November 16.
- The hospital in Hajnówka accepts migrants from the entire Hajnówka poviat, sometimes also from the Białystok poviat. There are four border guard watchtowers in the Hajnowski poviat: Połowce Czeremcha, Białowieża, Dubicze Cerkiewne and Narewka
- – We are burdened, also emotionally, but we manage. We have to, there is no other option. And there has never been a situation where we come to the point where we do not know what to do next. However, it is very difficult and very hard – admits Dr. Tomasz Musiuk, anaesthesiologist and deputy director for treatment of the hospital in Hajnówka
- – We see families looking for lost loved ones, they don’t even know if these people are alive. They send us photos of them, they come from distant European countries – the doctor tells
- As he tells Medonet, “you can see that migrants are doing everything to stay in hospital as long as possible”. – There are people with panic at the moment of discharge, self-mutilation, simulation of various symptoms (…) They simply do not want to go back to the border. They are asking us for help
- More current information can be found on the Onet homepage
Photo above. Hajnowka around. Paramedics take an injured refugee to the ambulance. 11.11.2021/XNUMX/XNUMX
Monika Mikołajska / Medonet: Since the beginning of the crisis on the border, the hospital in Hajnówka has been accepting foreigners crossing the border in this area. Let me ask you directly: how do you cope in this unprecedented, difficult situation?
Dr. Tomasz Musiuk, anaesthesiologist, deputy director for treatment of the Hospital. W. Mantiuk in Hajnówka: Migrants from all over the Hajnów poviat come to the hospital, sometimes “Medycy na Granicy” brings us patients also from the vicinity of Michałów (this is the Białystok poviat). As for the state of emergency itself, that is, this closed area, they are brought to us by border guards, emergency medical teams called by the fire brigade, the police or people who found migrants. Additionally, “Medycy na Granicy” and recently the Polish Center for International Aid also deliver from areas outside the migrant zone.
How are we doing? We are burdened, also emotionally, but we manage. We have to, there is no other option. And there has never been a situation where we come to the point where we do not know what to do next. However, it is very difficult and very hard. The worst thing is that we know very well that these people should not be hospitalized, they should not be in the conditions they are in, which make them sick. What’s more, it happens that after some time these people come to us again, they require medical attention again.
How many migrants do you look after and how has the situation changed since August?
From mid-August to the end of September, we had a total of 23 people at the SOR. As of November 16, there are about 200 of them, and in 1,5 months we admitted 180 patients, which is seven times more. Of course, there are days when they do not bring us migrants, but there are also days when even a dozen or so people come to us at once. Most often this happens in the evenings and at night.
The entire procedure is an additional difficulty. It is known that with migrants it all takes longer. There is also a language barrier. We try to communicate with the migrants in English, but it is very poor on their part. So we make use of the translators recommended by the foundations over the phone. Translators available on the Internet also help, and sometimes doctors who are friends from other hospitals who come from migrant countries, we simply call them if necessary. We only have such a translator for a moment.
What is the admission of a migrant to a hospital like? We are in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, and nothing is really known about these people.
Each patient, be it a foreigner or a Pole, is subjected to a rapid test for the presence of SARS-CoV-2. If the test is negative and the person shows symptoms that may indicate COVID-19, they are isolated until the infection is ruled out by the PCR test (we treat them as “covid” until then). We are not able to use quarantine because we simply do not have premises for it.
If the test result is added and the patient is in a state that does not require hospitalization, we also isolate him because the Border Guard does not have such possibilities, and isolation in such a case is necessary. This, however, means taking up space for more patients. It is hard. Fortunately, there are not many coronavirus infections among migrants, although hospitalizations for this do occur.
photo. WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP
What is the condition of the migrants who come to you? Are they just people whose lives are at risk?
If the Border Guard has any suspicion that something is wrong with the migrant, they take him to our hospital. If his condition allows it, they bring it themselves, if not – they call in rescuers who take it to us.
These people are very tired, hungry and thirsty. And while at the very beginning it was the main problem, now they come to us in a much more difficult condition. We have dehydration, hypothermia, sometimes very critical. The deep temperature drops to 28 degrees (and should be around 36,6 degrees), a condition below this value may be fatal. Hence, we now have patients in intensive care. It is because of such advanced hypothermia. There are also injuries: sprains, fractures, but also beatings or bites by dogs (fortunately, these were isolated cases, and the interview showed that they happened abroad, not in our country).
- Hypothermia. What happens when the temperature of the human body drops?
People in better condition spend several or several hours at the HED. Most often they need to be fed, watered, and given warm, clean clothes. When it comes to hospitalization, here’s a cross-section. From a few days to a few weeks, there are also people we can’t talk about when they get better.
And what is their mental state? These people live under enormous stress and experience enormous tragedy.
We do not diagnose them in this respect, mainly due to the language barrier. We would need a very good and accessible interpreter. However, by observing their behavior, we see that they are closed and distrustful. You can also see that they are doing everything to stay in the hospital as long as possible. There are people who panic, self-injure and simulate various symptoms when they are discharged from the hospital. We release them in good condition, but suddenly upon discharge it turns out that the situation has changed. They just don’t want to go back to the border. They are asking us for help. Unfortunately, we deal with treatment, we cannot keep these people in the hospital, we would not have room for more patients.
photo. WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP
It must be extremely difficult for them and for you.
We are witnessing really very difficult situations. We see families looking for lost loved ones, they don’t even know if these people are alive. They send us photos of them, they come from distant European countries, because they have received information that the family may be in our hospital. We had such a situation.
A family from Sweden boarded a plane to Warsaw and came to Hajnówka by taxi (over 200 km). All this to check if the person they knew was with us was actually their loved one (it was about a child). And it was true. The whole story ended happily.
Everything you told us clearly shows how difficult your situation is. What is the hospital missing the most, what are the biggest problems with?
I have not said such words yet, but humanitarian aid is really missing the most. And not for us as a hospital, but for the whole situation related to the crisis at the border in general. We have already raised this topic on poviat crisis management and submitted an idea. The point is to make places where people from the border would go directly. There, these people could count on primary care, there would be segregation due to their health condition and needed help. It would not have to be done in a hospital as is currently the case. Because, in fact, most people do not need a hospital, but they need food, water, warmth, change of clothes for clean and dry ones – simply humanitarian care. These people are even happy when they can wash themselves.
Thanks to this solution, migrants would not have to wander the forests, and those who would actually need medical assistance would end up in our hospital. It would be the perfect help.
Is there a chance to implement this idea?
Probably not, unfortunately. Although it seems to me that only the political will is enough, because, for example, the head of Czeremcha gives a large room for it, non-governmental organizations offer volunteers, including specialists: doctors, nurses, paramedics. We can also give our support.
The images coming from the border are more and more dramatic, the situation is getting tighter, winter is getting closer. What do you expect in the near future?
Honestly, a year ago, after the fall COVID-19 wave, I thought nothing worse could happen to us. It turned out otherwise. We have another fatal wave of the pandemic, sometimes there are no places available, we are setting up respirators outside intensive care units, and we have them enlarged by 100%. On top of that, there is also the migration crisis. We recently stated in our ICU that if we had not had a pandemic and the consequences of the border situation, we would not have had any patient on the ward. It says a lot about what is happening. So much that it is difficult for us to imagine what else could happen.
We take each day anew. I open my eyes and watch what exactly can happen in the hospital today. For sure, however, we are preparing for much more difficult cases.
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