The daily struggle of the medical staffs in the corona wards
(Photo: Barel Ephraim)
In the midst of the third corona wave, and as Israel moves between the major vaccination campaign and the morbidity figures that are reaching new highs, corona wards in the country’s hospitals, which have been dealing with the plague for many months, continue to operate under heavy load – around the clock.
Medical staff report, among other things, the mental difficulty of observing the rapid deterioration of some patients, the young patients who are in a difficult situation, the connection with families who can not be with loved ones, and the fact that even after so much experience, “when another patient dies it really does not get easier.” .
“Hot and hard with protective equipment, doctors sometimes work 26 hours.” At Kaplan Hospital
(Photo: Nadav Abs)
In the corona ward of Soroka Hospital, 54 patients are currently hospitalized in three wards. 14 of them are in intensive care with 12 respirators – two are connected to the Acme device. Now, in light of the congestion hospitalized in medical centers across the country, regulation of patients from them to Soroka has begun – as has also happened in the second wave of morbidity.
“We are in the midst of the third wave, the worst it has been since the beginning of the epidemic,” said Dr. Uri Galanta, a senior physician in the Corona Intensive Care Unit. “Signs of this are seen in hospitals, in Soroka in particular. The number of patients is growing, we have reached a peak of patients in intensive care that has not been in all waves so far. “
Corona Department in Soroka
(Photo: Barel Ephraim)
“The vaccine effect is not yet seen.” Dr. Galanta of Soroka
(Photo: Barel Ephraim)
Dr. Galante noted that it is still not possible to feel a decrease in morbidity following the current closure. “The number of patients in intensive care has quadrupled in the third wave,” he said.
He added that Soroka Hospital dominates the entire southern region and provides service to about a million people on weekdays. “However, as part of our mutual guarantee we are opening doors, helping and backing up busier hospitals than we are, and accepting patients from all over the country.”
The hospital’s data show that in the past week, about 350 patients were treated at the Soroka respiratory clinics, and more than 16,000 tests were performed to diagnose corona carriers. About 8% of the tests were positive – an increase compared to the last few weeks.
The brothers and sisters at the forefront of the fight against the virus: a discussion at the Ynet studio
(Photo: Shmulik Dudpur)
“The effect of vaccines has not yet been seen“We hope and expect that in at least a month we will also begin to see this effect of a decrease in morbidity, and subsequently a decrease in the number of hospitalized patients, certainly the critically ill,” said Dr. Galante.
The senior physician seeks to shatter the prevailing belief among some people that “corona is a disease of the elderly.” He said that most of the patients who are in a serious condition are aged 60-40, and not all of them suffer from background diseases. “The most difficult patients, perhaps the most difficult we have, are young people with no background illnesses at all“, He explained,” only those who are overweight are at increased risk. We do not really know how to say that people who are considered completely healthy cannot develop a very serious disease. The number of patients dying is also increasing. “More than 20 patients a day all over the country, we see that in us as well.”
Sister Ilana Puhis. “Mortality is hard and saddens the team”
(Photo: Barel Ephraim)
“4 times as many patients in a unit in this wave”
(Photo: Barel Ephraim)
Ilana Puhis, a nurse in charge of Corona Intensive Care, who has been managing the nursing staff department for the past ten months, said: “At the beginning of the third wave we tripled the number of patients we had in the first wave and at the end of the second wave. Currently 14 young patients are hospitalized.”
She recounted the feelings experienced by the medical staff during the relentless struggle with the virus: “We are used to winning every day, fighting for every patient. Before the Corona era our mortality rates were very low, and we are reaching many, great successes. Right now the mortality rate has gone up a lot and that is very sad and affecting the staff, Lowers the level of motivation. The work in protection is also very difficult – we participate in resuscitation, in various treatments, and with protection it is not easy. However, there is optimism about vaccines. We see light at the end of the tunnel. ”
In one shift in the Corona B ward at the medical center, the team was forced to inform the family of a 98-year-old patient of his death. Shortly afterwards, the doctors celebrated their 90th birthday accompanied by a cake and balloons for another patient.
The ward currently houses 33 patients with the virus, including 17 in critical condition and eight respirators. In another ward, 34 patients are hospitalized – and there are significant signs of fatigue among the staff. Doctors sometimes complete 26-hour shifts, and the general coping with the plague and what it brings with it is of course not straightforward.
Director of the Corona Department at Kaplan, Dr. Malka Atli. “The Current Wave – A Tsunami”
(Photo: Nadav Abs)
“It’s very hard not to talk face to face.” Kaplan Hospital
(Photo: Nadav Abs)
According to the director of the department, Dr. Malka Atli, “Along with all the vaccines, we are in trouble. This is the tsunami stage of the disease. In the first wave of illness there was a small wave, a ripple, in two a big wave, but now – a tsunami. “She also told about the difficult feelings:” We started this morning not well. We breathed one patient, another died. We informed the family on the phone that they are in isolation, it is different and difficult to talk like that and not face to face. “
She shared other challenges: “The shifts are very difficult because the patients are difficult. It is very hot to be inside with the protection and uncomfortable to communicate with the patients, so every doctor also gets help from an intern. Seeing very difficult patients, both elderly and young, is difficult.” , She said.
“We live in a parallel world,” she added, “outside there is talk of yes or no closure, yes or no vaccination, and I do not understand that. Corona is a super serious disease, it is important that people get vaccinated and also later – not to be complacent. It takes up to eight days To develop antibodies after the second vaccine. “
Dr. Silverella. “When someone dies it’s a big market”
(Photo: Nadav Abs)
“Patients are deteriorating, there are no answers for families”
(Photo: Nadav Abs)
Dr. Ilana Silverla, a family medicine specialist who works in the department, spoke about the aspect of mental difficulty in working there. “This is the hardest thing I have ever done. Sometimes patients deteriorate very quickly and we have no answers for families, not even for the patients themselves. It is not enough for us.” According to her, the limited staff in the ward tries to be by the patients’ side all the time, but this is not always possible.
“There is a significant load because more and more patients are coming, and some are experiencing very rapid deterioration and we are not always there,” she continued, “When someone dies it is a very big market. We do not always expect it, because again – the deterioration is sometimes very fast, and we do not have much to do. “We work and take care of it, but there’s not much to do with it.”
The nurse in charge, Diana Gurevitz. “We see aggravation in patients and there is nothing to do with it”
(Photo: Nadav Abs)
Corona B Department at Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot
(Photo: Nadav Abs)
The nurse in charge of the ward, Diana Gurevitz, described the constant “navigation” between caring for patients and caring for staff, and family members. “Every relative who wants to come in and visit a patient does so with protection and accompanied by a staff member. We saw months ago that a visit can help patients – and also families and staff. It is not just a benefit for the patient but for all of us,” she said.
Along with such exciting cases, Gurevitz also talks about the great difficulty in the face of the deaths of some of the patients: “It does not get any easier, every death of every patient is difficult for us. Moreover, some families are isolated and unable to attend the funeral. We are the connecting link, holding their hand over the phone“.
At Hadassah Ein Kerem in the capital, 142 patients are currently hospitalized in the corona wards, and at Shaare Zedek – 121 patients. 110 patients with the virus are hospitalized at the Herzog Rehabilitation Hospital. In recent days these medical centers have gone out of their way to demand budgets that will help them with the congestion created and its consequences.
The corona ward at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem
(Photo: Gil Yohanan)
“It’s hard for the team.” Corona Department at Hadassah Ein Kerem
(Photo: Gil Yohanan)
Prof. Dror Mevorach. “The most important thing – to improve infrastructure in the inpatient departments and in intensive care”
(Photo: Eli Mandelbaum, Uri Davidovich and Assi)
Prof. Dror Mevorach, director of the Corona department at Hadassah Ein Kerem, also said that the third and current wave of illness is more severe than its predecessors. “The first wave was child’s play, the second was already very serious, but this wave – is the hardest of all. In addition, we see patients whose rate of deterioration is very fast,” he said.
He also noted that the effect of vaccines, or quarantine restrictions, is not felt. “I certainly hope that the vaccine will reduce the number of serious patients, most of us aged 60 and over. But is this already happening? Unfortunately not yet,” he said.
According to Prof. Mevorach, the government must take some action in the fight against the disease: “First of all, do not let people come from Ben Gurion Airport without having a corona test before boarding a plane, do not let them disperse to homes without a check. The gatherings should also be enforced in closed and open places and not just on the roads. “
Above all, the most important thing in the eyes of the head of the department is the improvement of the infrastructure in the departments of internal medicine and intensive care. “We’ve been talking about it for over a year, and yet we’re not going to do much unfortunately,” he said.
“Trying to give families the feeling that they are partners.” Hadassah Hospital
(Photo: Gil Yohanan)
The corona ward at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem
(Photo: Gil Yohanan)
Hadas Sapir, a nurse in the corona ward, described the difficulty of working in the ward, and the need for psychological assistance. “It’s hard here. Again we are with quite a few respiratory patients, seeing people deteriorating rapidly and being referred to intensive care. It’s not easy for the staff,” she said.
“What happened in Ichilov can happen to anyone”
(Photo: Gil Yohanan)
This wave is the hardest of all. “Corona Department at Hadassah
(Photo: Gil Yohanan)
It is also difficult for Sapir to see the disconnect between patients and their families. “They can not be on the side of those dear to them who are hospitalized in the ward, it’s one of the hardest things,” she said.
The role of Etty Levy, a liaison nurse in the ward, is to update the families on the patients’ condition. “Many times patients can’t talk on the phone, tell about their condition. Family members’ visiting hours are very limited, and they also can’t always talk to the doctor when they arrive. That’s why I centralize the information from the doctors and nurses, and inform the families,” she said.
“It turns out that I also calm down and ask questions, they can also ask directly and get answers,” Levy continued, “if I do not have them at the moment then we take care to check and get back to them. The goal is to actively update, give them an address, they will feel active, “That they are partners. That they are here even though they are not here. Close the circle.”