A new case was admitted to the ward just when I came on call. A middle-aged man with fever, cough, phlegm, and travel history to mainland China. I open the drawer outside to gown up because he could have nCoV.
The N95 mask box is empty.
N95 is the type of mask we use against airborne infectious diseases like the nCoV, SARS, and TB as it can filter out tiny particles. Normal surgical masks aren't protection enough. And now my ward has run out.
The clerk helpfully managed to squeeze out two more for me for tonight but if there hadn't been any, I wouldn't have gone into the room to admit the man. The clerk tells me more N95 has been ordered but she has no idea when they'll arrive. I guess I have no idea when I'll be able to admit infectious patients again?
A colleague from a different hospital says a patient has a mandatory quarantine demand issued by immigration, with the quarantine address stated as... the hospital. Because the patient has no fixed abode in HK and didn't get a hotel room. What the feck? Can I write the home address of our chief executive Carrie Lam if I ever need mandatory quarantine? (By the way, that's some excellent 'rely on honesty' declarations there -- see previous chapter.)
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The Doctor Will See You Now [Non-Fiction]
Non-FictionTrue accounts from a junior doctor. From bargaining with a child using stickers in exchange for a blood draw to complex, sickly elderly patients to dark medical humour between healthcare professionals, being a doctor is a rollercoaster of a calling...
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