Doctors fighting COVID-19 can rightfully be considered the heroes of our time: they often work continuously, often forgetting about their families and even about food. Our heroine, who wished to remain anonymous, is an employee of the capital’s hospital, where patients with coronavirus are admitted. She told how the departments are being reorganized, why many cannot stand it and how they work in a “spacesuit”.
19 005 322April 20 2020
Doctors have enjoyed respect and honor at all times, and 2020 was no exception: now, when doctors, not sparing themselves, save other people, the whole world thanks them with applause – both monarchs and ordinary web users. On the internet, we see how much effort it costs hospital workers 12- and 24-hour shifts. Someone can not stand it and leaves, and those who remain, work without further ado. Nevertheless, it is important to talk about the “inner kitchen” of hospitals where COVID-19 patients are admitted: at least in order to understand that it is better not to be there. After all, otherwise, the number of infected people will grow rapidly, but the number of doctors, alas, will not.
The editorial staff of Healthy Food Near Me talked with one of the employees of the Moscow hospital that receives patients with COVID-19, and found out how things are “at the front”. Her word.
I get up early for work. The alarm clock rings at 5:40 – there is only enough time to quickly wash and put yourself in order. I don’t have breakfast at home, although sometimes I manage to have a snack at work. If not, then I do without food. I usually arrive at the hospital by 7:30, but now, due to the re-profiling of my department in the infectious diseases department, I will start work an hour earlier. During this time, I need to put on personal protective equipment (which is not quick) and get ready.
I get to the hospital by public transport. Since I am driving in the early morning, I see not so many people around, but still enough. Almost no one maintains a social distance: even if you want to stay away from others, it will not work – you cannot control those who follow you and are used to snuggling. This is upsetting: do people really not understand how important it is to observe at least this simple rule?
Back in January, when the number of COVID-19 diseases had just begun to increase in China, I was sure that this would not reach us, because for a long time we had only a few cases. And now I see that Russia is in no way inferior to other countries in the development of the epidemic. Now it seems to me that at best, everything will end in the summer. But this, you understand, is an optimistic forecast.
Everything is complicated by the fact that people do not stay at home. I constantly observe a large number of “walking”, including adolescents, children, and even those who are huddled together and of the “rest” type.
I honestly don’t understand this. Yes, it’s hard and boring at home, but do you know what it’s like for a doctor to take risks every day, going out and even more so at work to be in direct contact with infected people?
No, you don’t understand.
If you think that this will not affect you, then you are deeply mistaken. I beg you, please stay at home, only go out when necessary, take precautions. If you go out somewhere wearing a mask and gloves and at the same time touch the phone with these supposedly protected hands, this does not mean that you are safe: you just, excuse me, are engaged in self-hypnosis.
Recently I saw a girl in disposable protective gloves – with one hand she pressed the phone to her ear, with the other she scratched her cheek, and the mask covered only her mouth. How can that be? After all, she collected so much dirt on her gloves, and then calmly rubbed her face and phone. Why, then, do we need protective equipment at all? In this case, they are useless.
Here’s another episode: a woman on the subway took off her mask, coughed and put it back on. This makes me indignant. Remember: masks are not worn in order to avoid infection, but in order not to infect others if you are a hidden carrier of infection.
Putting on the mask correctly is a whole art. It must be firmly pressed against the bridge of the nose and stretched to the chin. For those who wear glasses, things are a little more complicated: first you need to put on a mask, and on top of it – glasses. Yes, they will fog up, but everything will work as it should.
On the street, if you can keep your distance, take off your mask, give yourself some rest. It must be held by the elastic bands and pulled together, but in no case should you touch the fabric surface itself!
But this is so, a lyrical digression and a cry from the heart after I saw a lot of people who want to protect themselves and others, but do not know how to do it.
As I said, I get to work by 7:30, and I will be even earlier. Our hospital is multidisciplinary, but in a matter of days all doctors, regardless of specialization, will be re-profiled as infectious disease specialists. We are now accepting COVID-19 patients.
We were informed about this at the end of March. We were shocked and hoped until the last that it was a rumor that such measures would not be needed. But the number of infected people across the country is growing, the situation is worsening, and places in other hospitals are rapidly filling. There is no time for jokes, we had to adopt a new resolution.
About two weeks ago, they began to supply us in large quantities with medicines, consumables, PPE (personal protective equipment – approx. Healthy Food Near Me), furniture. The beds in many departments have been expanded. Now doctors will work 12 hours a day, management staff – 8 hours, and middle and junior staff – some 12, and some the whole day.
We were trained: specialists, together with epidemiologists, came and showed how to put on and take off PPE correctly. Few people know that getting out of the “spacesuit” is much more risky – if something goes wrong, the virus will get on the skin, into the respiratory tract, and then you will be infected. It takes endurance, patience and, of course, perseverance. After a tough 12-hour shift, it is, of course, very difficult. We were also instructed on how the hospital zones will be divided according to the severity of patients and how exactly the medical staff will walk on them.
Now in our hospital, everyone is fussing, everyone is anxious. The administration is on its feet from morning till night, there are a lot of organizational issues, doctors and nurses have additional questions, and because of stress, people do not absorb information well and forget something – they have to explain, remind, and often calm them down. Many of our hospital have families and young children. Someone who is too scared, they take a vacation and leave, and someone quits altogether. Unfortunately, hands are now sorely lacking.
Yes, we were scared. Yes, we studied in medicine and over the years of practice we got used to a lot … But not to that. We are people like everyone else. I was very lucky with my department in this regard: the team survived, no one “merged”, we accept all the innovations with dignity.
Acquaintances from neighboring offices who are already working with COVID-19 say that emotionally and physically it is extremely difficult. The flow of patients is huge, so it is simply impossible to pay attention to everyone properly. There are a lot of patients, beds are filled with lightning speed, but, fortunately, there are still enough places. Bye.
You need to work for days, the volume is huge, the staff often does not cope, burns out, and nervous breakdowns occur. It is difficult to observe how the patient was stable a couple of days ago, and today he is dying. We try to hold on. It does not always work out, but there is simply no other way out.
With a 12-hour shift, we have the opportunity to go for a break 1 time, and with a daily shift – 4 times. It sounds good, but due to the shortage of protective suits, we have to save a lot, so we have to forget about going to the toilet and eating.
It is difficult only at first, when you simply cannot satisfy your basic needs, but then even this fades into the background, because it becomes more important to help everyone here, now.
I also think about cutting my hair, which is now shoulder-length, because when working in a protective suit it is terribly uncomfortable. It’s hot in the “spacesuit”, and during the daily shift, even perfectly fixed curls can get tousled due to the friction of the inner cap and hood. In addition, you can save time: hair will not need to be fiddled with for a long time, and after duty, when we shower with disinfectants, they do not need to be dried. After all, they will grow back, so I look like a boy with a haircut for a while.
Our team also purchases special plasters so that pressure sores do not form on the face from respirators and glasses. Now this is a big problem for many doctors – the skin on the face is sensitive and even after a 12-hour shift, bloody wounds are often formed.
In addition, we buy or search through familiar protective shields and even construction goggles. We do this in order to find more convenient options for ourselves, and also in reserve, in case the PPE no longer remains for your shift. This is quite possible: our hospital would be happy to purchase sufficient protective equipment, money is allocated for this. But manufacturers simply do not have time to release them.
About two weeks ago, I was under very strong pressure due to the situation with the pandemic and the fact that I personally have to work with it. Not to someone there, not to friends from neighboring branches. Namely to me. Honestly, I even thought about quitting. She regretted that she studied in medicine. And then I just got tired of worrying and accepted the situation. Of course, you do not know what will await you there tomorrow, the risk of infection is huge, but now it is hard not only for me, this is happening all over the world. We have to cope.
By the way, after the news of the re-profiling, relations in my team improved dramatically. At first we were upset, worried, “denied” what was happening. And now we are trying to support each other, suggesting, helping. We translate all negative moments into jokes and laugh. Yes, we have become much more united.
I immediately agreed to work with COVID-19, but do not think that I was driven only by patriotism and the Hippocratic oath.
“I am a medic, I must!” – everything was a little different. The situation is compelling. In addition to my responsibility to the sick and my own conscience, I have a family. I need to earn money, because now only I work from home, and the costs remain the same.
Much worse for me for my family. Every day I ride to work, every day I face a huge probability that on the way home or in the department I will catch an infection and infect a family that is regularly sitting on self-isolation. It’s good that they understand the seriousness of the situation and only try to leave the house when absolutely necessary, and I, in turn, observe all the precautions.
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Coronavirus is often called the plague of the XNUMXst century
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Today, this is the main way to maintain your health. On behalf of all doctors, I very much ask you to stay at home, wash your hands often, and treat all surfaces with a disinfectant solution. Even if you had to go outside, be sure to keep your distance, respect the safety of yourself and others! Thanks to these seemingly simple rules, we will defeat this virus. If the growth of the infected will increase, the hospitals will simply not be able to cope with so many infected, so please take care of yourself!
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