Medical care increases at city hospitals

Non-virus-related services rise as battle continues against resurgent epidemic

Outpatient and emergency services at Shanghai's 36 major hospitals increased by 103 percent and 65 percent, respectively, last week compared with the first week of this month, said a senior hospital management executive.

The increase was a result of the city authority's continuous efforts to satisfy the public's medical needs amid the citywide coronavirus-induced lockdown, which began on April 1.

"Moreover, 33 out of the 36 medical institutions have opened temporary emergency treatment facilities to guarantee nonstop, smooth first-aid green channels," said Wang Xingpeng, director of the Shanghai Shenkang Hospital Development Center, which manages major medical institutions in the city.

"Hospitals have also boosted their capacity to answer phone calls from the public to ensure smooth communication," he said at a news briefing on Sunday.

Wang said all the departments offering outpatient services at the hospitals have been operating as usual, and the institutions are also expanding services provided by senior doctors.

In response to the need to distribute medications to treat chronic diseases, hospitals, including children's hospitals, have arranged special windows where a community volunteer can pick up medication for many residents at once.

Data also showed that the number of surgical operations at hospitals over the past week had doubled from the first week of this month.

At the Gynecology and Obstetrics Hospital at Fudan University, a woman suffering from cervical cancer gave birth to her second child via cesarean section and underwent cancer surgery last week.

Without a negative nucleic acid test result, she was admitted into a quarantine operation room through the hospital's green channel after showing symptoms of giving birth five weeks ahead of her expected due date.

In some districts, transportation authorities have joined hands with subdistricts to dispatch vehicles alongside ambulances to help bring patients who are in urgent and critical conditions to hospitals. In Jiading district, for example, the number of such vehicles has reached 230.

Shanghai registered 1,401 locally transmitted COVID-19 confirmed cases and 19,657 asymptomatic infections on Saturday. Only 44 confirmed cases and 236 asymptomatic infections were found through screening individuals who were deemed to be at risk of being exposed to the virus.

"The number of daily new infections remained at a high level with fluctuations, but the ratio of new infections out of closed-loop management is decreasing," said Zhao Dandan, deputy director of the Shanghai Health Commission.

However, he said the virus' spread at some construction sites and enterprises that have resumed production was on the rise.

In addition, the outbreak's death toll increased to 87 after 39 new fatalities, a record daily high, were reported on Saturday. The average age of those who died was about 81, and the eldest was 101.

Among those who died, all had serious underlying diseases that contributed to their deaths. Only five were vaccinated.

As of Saturday, there were 160 severely ill COVID cases, and another 19 were in critical condition in Shanghai.

"In treating the severely ill patients, medical teams adhered to three principles: laying equal emphasis on medically treating severely ill patients and preventing mild cases from developing into severe ones; treating underlying diseases and COVID-19 symptoms at the same time; and combining traditional Chinese medicine with Western drugs," Wang said.

Nine medical teams composed of hundreds of experts from Shanghai and other regions were dispatched to help treat severe cases at eight designated hospitals.

Also on Saturday, 2,242 confirmed cases and 16,626 asymptomatic cases were discharged after recovery.