Petersburg has been breaking records of coronavirus infections every day since the second week of January. On the 7th day, a little more than 1200 cases were detected per day, on January 14 – 2708. On the third day of February, we are already talking about 21,234 infections per day. Citizens wait for an ambulance for days, cut off the telephones of the 122 service, line up at the polyclinics. Officials recognize the extreme overload of the system and call for vaccinations.
One of the reasons for the collapse is infection among the doctors themselves. Medicine lacks hands. Cardiologists, neurologists, employees of skin care dispensaries, students are thrown to work with covid-19. Many doctors themselves have been ill several times – and continue to work with all their might.
In the midst of the fifth wave of the epidemic, KP-Petersburg talked to a person who was not just inside the system, but on the front line – ambulance paramedic Alexander (name changed at the request of the hero). About why there are not enough emergency teams for everyone, about unprecedented workloads and the depreciation of the profession – read in our special material.
“40 PERCENT OF HEALTH WORKERS ARE SICK”
I’ve been in the ambulance service since 2000. Specifically now – at the Pushkin station. We go to Slavyanka, and to Shushary, and to Lensovetovsky, and to Lesnoye. But there has never been such a load as now.
Now I am sick with coronavirus, we are in isolation with my wife – she also works in the ambulance service. When the doctor was called to the house, he came to us only on the fourth day: they called 122 on Friday, waited on Monday. But I treat this with understanding: now it’s like that everywhere. We didn’t need an ambulance. The disease is not very difficult: the temperature rises to 39 degrees, but does not last long – we cope. I am sick for the second time. Some colleagues have gone through this three times.
In this wave, a lot of ambulance workers and polyclinics were out of order. About 40 percent are now sick at our station. And if a person falls ill, there is no one to replace him. Yes, someone can take more shifts. But if you work day after day, you can’t take an extra shift.
Severe cases are now rare. And yet, if the temperature is 38 degrees, a person has no right to go to work.
Four died at our station with confirmed coronavirus. This is two years of the pandemic. There are 21 teams in total – two people on average, not counting drivers. Someone goes one at a time, resuscitation – three people.
You can get sick anywhere now, it’s not always about work. We are fine with defense. The supply of suits and respirators is unproblematic. The instruction is as follows: the dispatcher finds out the patient’s symptoms, depending on them we put on a suit or not. If the team came to the call and already on the spot sees signs of COVID-19, then the health workers go out in turn and put on protection. Each machine has containers for used suits – there they are soaked in a solution. Reusable overalls are processed additionally
“TOP INSTALLATION: TAKE IT ALL”
As omicron came in, there were much more calls. Many patients not only with breathing difficulties, but also with heart problems. Complications from the coronavirus are also making themselves felt. But it is especially hard to see how children get sick. Against the background of the coronavirus, they often begin to suffocate. This is especially true for children under the age of one year. Due to the peculiar anatomy of the respiratory tract, they quickly develop edema. And as a result – stenosis, spasms.
True, every day there are one or several cases when a person called an ambulance because of anxiety. This is a small part of the challenges, but it exists.
In general, not all people understand when it is necessary to call an ambulance. Sometimes they call and demand a brigade because of the temperature of 37.2°C. For some reason, they cannot call a doctor at home from the clinic. And we have such a setting from above: take everything. There should be no denials. Management is afraid of unnecessary complaints. As a result, there are not enough brigades physically.
“PROFESSION DEPRESSED”
Despite the epidemic, the salary remained the same as it was. But there is a coronavirus compensation. We get it for each fact of a confirmed coronavirus in a patient. But if the pandemic ended and we were left without these payments, it would be much better.
In St. Petersburg, salaries are even more or less – I, for example, receive in the region of 60,000 – 70,000. But in the Leningrad Region, for example, they are frankly unworthy. In other regions it is even worse. I see that many of our employees come from other cities. Yes, it’s better here, but it’s a hell of a job.
In addition, the training of young specialists is lame. There are no exams in colleges – they take them according to the results of the GIA, the Unified State Examination. It doesn’t always work out right. Students and graduates often do not even strive to do business seriously.
The medical profession has depreciated in general. The spirit of romance is gone. Everyone wants to make money. And in emergency medicine, this approach is not the best option. Of course, cosmetology is more beneficial. Botox in the lips to prick, nails to do – it’s much more tempting for graduates.
“THE REGULATIONS SHOULD BE REVIEWED”
Formally, we do not have a shortage of personnel. But in reality there are not enough teams. It is necessary to revise the standards, because they were adopted in the Soviet era. According to the standard, one ambulance brigade per 10,000 population is enough. But now new residential areas are growing. Many people are not registered in their apartments. The actual number of residents is many times higher than the official one.
Earlier, before the 1990s, the home care system was better developed. Much attention was paid to prevention. The role of polyclinics and feldsher-obstetric stations was stronger. Now it doesn’t exist at all. Everything collapsed. Almost no new polyclinics and feldsher-obstetric stations are being built. Just the bare minimum. And since this link fell out of the life of the population, people replaced it with an ambulance. But this is wrong. The ambulance service should do its job, not the functions of the clinic.
Three reasons to stay in emergency care
I chose this specialty at school. I liked biology, films and books about medicine. Bulgakov’s “Doctor’s Notes” touched me very much.
What keeps me in this job? I like unpredictability. When you go to a challenge, you usually do not know what is actually waiting for you there. I like to see the result of my work. When you come to an accident, in cases of severe injuries, you give all your best and feel satisfaction from a positive result. When a person survives thanks to you – this is a special feeling.
OFFICIALLY
The St. Petersburg Health Committee does not have accurate data on how many medical workers are sick with COVID-19 now. However, as Deputy Chairman of the Department Dmitry Motovilov previously reported, in some clinics and hospitals their number can reach up to 20-25 percent of the staff.
SPECIFICALLY
When to call an ambulance:
Call an ambulance only when there is a threat to life. For example, if a person suffocates, cannot walk, loses consciousness.
If you have a mild form of coronavirus, it is treated in the same way as a common ARVI: with antipyretic, pain medications.
Should I call an ambulance to find out if you have covid? No. At the beginning of the pandemic, there was a period when ambulance crews were given tests. But they were used to prevent people with coronavirus from getting into a regular hospital.
For more than six months, we have not even been given tests for covid, so we cannot do them to anyone.
