Coronavirus: Hong Kong medical workers share distressing scenes from overcrowded public hospitals as cases surge
- Supply of oxygen cylinders has been affected by large case numbers, with medical workers forced to check each cylinder to avoid patients needing resuscitation
- Limited space has created poor hygiene conditions, with one medic saying an emergency department smelt of human waste
Crowds of critically ill patients, low oxygen supplies and poor hygienic conditions were among scenes reported by some public health care staff as Hong Kong struggles with its worst coronavirus outbreak to date.
The Post talked to health care workers who shared their distressing experiences at public hospitals amid the fifth wave, along with their frustrations at being unable to provide proper care to so many patients.
In the accident and emergency department at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Jordan, the situation has begun to feel like a battlefield, according to several medical workers.
One doctor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said about a dozen critically ill patients, admitted earlier in the week, had been stuck in a resuscitation room for periods ranging from 16 to 24 hours before being transferred to other wards.
Several patients have been relying on ventilators to pump air into their lungs, while the rest have required large amounts of oxygen.
Dwindling oxygen supplies have become an issue as an increasing number of patients need help with their breathing, the doctor said.
“We are running out of oxygen,” he said. “We have plenty of patients on oxygen [support] using just an oxygen cylinder under their beds.”