Scars and risk. What doctors go through when fighting coronavirus

Around the world, the fight against coronavirus infection is implacable. Doctors who work in hospitals are now equated with superheroes. There’s just one difference between the two. If fictional characters are invulnerable to some degree, real medical professionals risk their own health every time they open the doors of a hospital. These people go through a lot of hardship and deprivation to do anything to help the sick.

It seems to us that nowadays it is important for everyone to know what a hard lot doctors and nurses go through. Perhaps it will change someone’s attitude to the situation and make them be a little more responsible.

Working long hours without rest

In countries where the number of people infected with coronavirus has reached critical levels, the health care system is struggling to cope. Hospitals are running out of space, equipment and medicine for the patients arriving every hour. But worst of all, hospitals don’t have enough people to care for all the patients. Doctors have to work long hours without a lunch break. Some doctors have to work two shifts in a row because their colleagues also fall ill and are temporarily out of action.

There is a belief that Russia is just in the midst of a peak situation due to the spread of the coronavirus. But state hospitals are already beginning to reorganize themselves as infectious diseases hospitals. Valentina Smirnova, a nurse, works in one such institution. A couple of days ago, the girl shared in her Instagram how the first working day during the pandemic went.

Valentina: Patients are filling many departments: at the gate there is a queue of ambulances. There are so many patients that we can’t leave the ward. Yesterday we were still lucky and I got out at two o’clock in the afternoon for half an hour. At least I ate, drank, and had the opportunity to go to the toilet. And then for 17 hours I didn’t have that opportunity! Not because you can’t, not because there are no protective equipment for us (we are scheduled for a maximum of two outings and a change of equipment per day), but because you just can’t! You can’t leave incoming patients in packs, you can’t leave heavy patients who urgently need oxygen or IVs. You can’t leave doctors, who physically do not have time to examine everyone and write diaries.

Huge risk of infection

The biggest risk for doctors is the huge possibility of contracting coronavirus. Despite the defenses listed, the infection can gain the upper hand. Diana Torres, a nurse who works at a New York City hospital, said in an interview that hospitals are now comparable to a war zone.

We are entering a war zone. We don’t know where we’re going anymore. We don’t know who is infected with the virus, who has gotten the infection. We make assumptions as we enter the hospital. We realize that we are likely to get an even higher dose of the virus than before.

In Russia, Denis Protsenko, the head doctor of the infectious disease hospital in Kommunarka, has already been infected. And from abroad there is bad news: doctors are dying in the fight against the coronavirus. Ophthalmologist Li Wenliang was the first doctor to report the infection in Wuhan, China. At first, his colleagues did not believe him and police issued a warning for “false information”. Later, when the existence of the new virus was confirmed, the medic contracted dangerous pneumonia and died in early February.

What can we do to make doctors’ jobs easier?

We are unlikely to be able to change the situation globally, but everyone can be more aware and take responsibility for their actions. In order to stop the spread of the coronavirus and give doctors a chance to cope with the huge influx of patients, we should take self-isolation measures. And, of course, do not forget about hygiene. This is the only way we can deal with the problem that is looming over the world.