 Doctors have to take care of severe COVID patients around the clock. (Photo: VOV) |
Inside the treatment section for severe COVID-19 patients at the Central Highlands General Hospital, time seems not to exist. In that space, doctors experience different types of emotion, from happiness when the patients recover, to tears of sorrow and helplessness when they can not save a patient.
Doctor Vo Phi Binh of the Intensive Care Unit has treated critical COVID-19 patients from the beginning of the pandemic. He said for these patients, it’s a fine line between life and death.
"The psychology of COVID-19 patients is very fragile. Some patients worried too much though their health condition was not serious and this worsened their situation. We had to comfort and provide them with psychological support. For severe patients, we treated them in accordance to the Ministry of Health’s guidelines and other all intensive care measures. Many severe patients have recovered,” said Binh.
 Nurses feed patients with milk. (Photo: VOV) |
At present, 80 people are being treated in the section of severe COVID-19 patients, mostly elderly people with underlying conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and cirrhosis. Nurse Nguyen Thi Loc said older patients are easy to get angry when they are sick. Nurses have to comfort and persuade them to abide by treatment procedures. They pat the patient's back to make it easier to breathe and help them eat, drink, change diapers, and clean their body.
“Patients here don’t have relatives by their side. We give them medicine and help them drink and eat. Whenever they need we are always available. We encourage them to try to overcome difficulties to soon reunite with their families,” said Loc.
All patients in the Intensive Care section are closely monitored. Any carelessness, such as a broken oxygen mask line while they were sleeping, can lead to death.
Doctor Trinh Hong Nhut, head of the Resuscitation and Emergency section, said since August last year the 3rd floor of the Central Highlands General Hospital has been the last hope to save COVID-19 patients in Dak Lak province.
"We received a lot of critical patients. We have tried to keep the fatality rate at 0.54%, while the national fatality rate is 1.5% and the world 1.4%. It was the result of maximum effort of all doctors and nurses to treat patients,” said Nhut.
Recovered patients are the biggest joy for doctors. The fight against COVID-19 still continues with difficulties and hardship, but the doctors with strong determination, responsibility, and devotion will always be an iron shield to save COVID-19 patients.