RMO Day 14 - Another Call

The ritual at 5 pm, listening to Datuk Hisham for his daily briefing

A couple of my colleague had been quarantined after COVID-19 exposure. Alhamdulillah, they both tested negative for infection and will soon return to work. The risk is real, and seeing these exposures really brought the message home.

And while they were away, I stepped up to cover their calls. So, I ended up doing 2 calls in a matter of days. Even though they were not busy, I found them to be more stressful compared to the usual. All the admissions had to be carefully screened, and more often than not, they require screening and isolation. While waiting for the results of their swabs, I had to be in full PPE when I interact with them.

This took time and concentration, not just in the process of donning them, but also removing the clothing layers, a process we term “doffing”. Exposure tended to happen during this doffing process, especially when you were hot and sweaty and been under pressure.

31st March 2020

Luckily, the staffs and colleagues are there to help out. It really made a difference. We looked after each other and watch each other’s back. A whole ward floor had now been turned into an isolation ward, with another ICU ward specially assigned for potential COVID patients needing barrier nursing. Looking after these patients in ICU has double the pressure. I was glad that my Intensivist Colleague was ready to help, the process of intubating these patients are not for the faint-hearted. More so, in a tent outside the hospital Emergency Room at one o’clock in the morning!

Luckily, all my patient's swabs came back negative. They can then be moved outside the quarantine area and after that, life goes on. The routine then repeats, on for the next call. Not too many patients, but ultimately, more stressful ...