Private hospitals step up in anti-coronavirus fight
Private hospitals have played an important role during the recent pandemic, and even helped serve patients from public hospitals, which are shut down due to COVID-19 screening.
Hongkang Hospital in Putuo District said its patients for colonoscopy and gastroscopy have increased more than one fourth recently, as many who had planned to undergo checks in public hospitals had ended up at Hongkang.
"Our hospital has never shut during the recent pandemic and we are trying our best to meet patients' demand as some public hospitals stopped service temporarily due to screening," said Liu Guihua, a hospital official. "In addition to enhancing outpatient services and checks like gastroscopy and colonscopy, we also organized volunteers to help people, especially the elderly who are quarantined in the community or nursing homes due to the pandemic."
"Since these people are unable to come to a hospital for prescribed medicines due to quarantine and are not familiar with the Internet medical service, we send staff to collect medical books and insurance cards from nearby communities and elderly homes in Putuo. We serve about 200 patients each day."
Volunteers from Hongkang Hospital help more than 200 residents and elderly being quarantined at home or nursing homes receive medicine each day.
Local private hospitals also take part in the city's anti-COVID-19 fight in the front line by sending medical staff to carry out nucleic acid testing.
"Our hospital has participated in nucleic acid sample collection in over 150 areas in Putuo during the current coronavirus resurgence," Liu said. "More than 168,000 samples have been collected by our staff."
Officials from Shanghai Ai'er Eye Hospital, another private hospital, said all its headquarters in downtown Xuhui District and branches in rural Jinshan, Qingpu, Jiading and Songjiang districts have sent medical staff to support nucleic acid sample collecting in the city.
From March 14 to 23, Ai'er dispatched medical staff to support nucleic acid testing in 64 community spots, collecting more than 80,000 samples.
Medical staff from Shanghai Ai'er Eye Hospital pose after finishing support at a nucleic acid testing spot.
Medical staff from Shanghai Ai'er Eye Hospital.
In addition, the hospital said it successfully helped a German woman with amotio retinae.
The 48-year-old woman surnamed Parnitzke , who is a teacher at an international school in Shanghai, found there was a part loss in the vision of her left eye one day and the situation became more serious the next day.
She went to the hospital, which has a 24-hour emergency channel for amotio retinae.
Dr Li Yong conducted checks and performed an emergency surgery.
"Early treatment is very critical for amotio retinae, which can severely impact a patient's vision if missing the best treatment – 24 hours," Li said.
A German woman with amotio retinae undergoes an emergency surgery at Shanghai Ai'er Eye Hospital.
The German woman receives checks after the surgery.
