Huoshenshan Hospital discharges a total of 1,800 COVID-19 patients

By Xian Gan, Li Longyi, People’s Daily

Another 100 or so patients were discharged from makeshift hospital Huoshenshan, Wuhan on Monday, bringing the total number of cured patients to over 1,800.

Huoshenshan Hospital was formally delivered to military medics tasked with treating patients in the hospital on Feb. 2, and started receiving patients two days later.

Over the past month, with the support from 7 academicians from major medical institutions, the Huoshenshan Hospital has established research teams on COVID-19 prevention and treatment, a military joint expert team, and a multi-discipline medical expert team. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) General Hospital located in Beijing also established an expert team for teleconsultation.

From the first batch of patients received by the hospital, department directors would organize doctors to evaluate severity. Joint discussions were held for those in severe conditions, and for those in complex situations, expert teams would be invited to discuss and then optimize treatment plans. Those in critical conditions would be immediately transferred to ICUs.

On Feb. 14, experts from the PLA General Hospital visited the Huoshenshan Hospital and carried out a group consultation, where they were introduced to the cases in severe and critical conditions at the hospital. They conducted scientific discussion with the medical teams at Huoshenshan, and helped optimize treatment plans based on thorough analysis and science-based evaluation.

Thanks to a 5G teleconference system, experts from the PLA General Hospital in Beijing are able to have teleconsultations and offer guidance and technical assistance for treating critical patients at the Huoshenshan Hospital.

The Huoshenshan Hospital has also established an expert team of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Visiting patients in the wards, the experts completed TCM syndrome differentiation, determined routine TCM prescriptions, and established and improved the synergetic plans for the combined treatment of western and traditional Chinese medicine.

They held joint consultations for patients across the hospital, made routine prescriptions for patients with mild and moderate symptoms, and prescribed individualized treatment plans for those in severe and critical conditions.

Many patients developed mental issues during quarantine and treatment, so timely psychological counseling and intervention are of vital significance. To address this issue, the Huoshenshan Hospital established a team of psychological and mental health experts. Under the instruction of experts and medics, patients started taking mental intervention practices, which largely alleviated the stressful atmosphere in the wards. Over the days, the experts took multiple approaches to improve the treatment plan, enhanced psychological counseling for patients, and boosted the confidence of both patients and doctors in winning the anti-coronavirus fight.

Meanwhile, the Huoshenshan hospital has also made active exploration of new treatments, trying its best to prevent patients with mild symptoms from developing into severe conditions. It steadfastly promotes plasma treatment for patients in recovery, maintains contact with discharged patients through messaging, and encouraged discharged patients to donate plasma. Besides, expert teams at the hospital also made a clinical application plan of plasma treatment for recovered patients so as to smooth procedures, monitor transfusion, and ensure safety.

medical worker conducts colored ultrasonographic scanning for a patient in an ICU of the Huoshenshan Hospital, March 14. Photo by Liu Yibo, People’s Daily Online