There is no question nurses in Hong Kong’s busy public hospitals bear the brunt of the overcrowding crisis.
“There is no time for us to think at all. I just have to do what I have to do immediately and basically no time to stop,” said Po (a pseudonym), a nurse in an acute emergency medicine ward.
During the flu peak season, her ward, which was designed to handle stable patients for observation, had to take in more severe patients with respiratory infections overflowing from the medical ward.
“Each patient needs more time of care … we have to collect samples of nose fluid, phlegm and blood,” said Po.
“There was one time when we only had seven patients of our own ward, and more than 20 patients were actually from the medical ward.”
Compounding the pressure was that her ward, which was supposed to take care of only 30 patients, had to increase beds to cater for up to 40 patients, but with the same four nurses.
During Lunar New Year when pressure on public hospitals was more severe, both nurses and patients were under pressure.
