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| SARS scares Chinese away from hospitals |
| CCTV.COM 2003-06-13 12:06:51 |
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Statistics show many SARS patients have been infected by the virus in hospitals. This has made people reluctant to go to the hospital for check－ups. But the fact is, waiting out any illness at home may be even riskier.
Seeing a doctor at a Beijing hospital used to take at least half a day because of the crowds. But now, even the best hospital has seen patient numbers drop by about one－half. People are afraid of catching SARS.
"It would not be worth it if I contracted SARS just because I come to the hospital for a minor illness. It would be unthinkable if I infected my family. So if I can do without a hospital visit, then so be it," said a patient.
The high infection rate of SARS within hospitals at the early stage of its outbreak has made these medical facilities off－limit to many patients. On the average, 80 percent of them would rather weather it out at home than be hospitalized, sometimes no matter how sick they may be.
"Some patients used to come to hospitals when their symptoms were just starting to appear. Now many come here only when they can't hold out any more," said Cheng Suhua of First Subsidiary Hospital of Peking Univ..
In the past, less than one－third of the acute patients were seriously ill. Now the number has more than doubled. Most of them were found to have either waited too long to seek treatment or misused medicine without doctors' instructions.
An elderly woman suffered a heart attack, but she waited for seven hours at night before taking a taxi to the hospital. She was afraid the ambulance was SARS－contaminated. That seven hours almost cost her life.
"A high fatality rate is just one of the consequences. There's also the higher treatment cost, longer hospital stay, and greater pain," said Chen Xuyan, First Subsidiary Hospital, Peking Univ.
The hospital scare is understandable, doctors say, but now that all necessary prevention measures against cross－infection are in place and working well, there's no need for such worry. And it's encouraging that more patients are coming to realize this.
"We were nervous at first when the hospital started to admit SARS patients. But later we found the prevention measures very effective. Now we're not afraid any more," said a patient.
Prompt treatment is crucial for any disease. With the number of SARS on the decline and effective controls in place in hospitals, doctors suggest it's safer than ever to seek immediate treatment at hospitals. SARS isn't the only disease that kills.
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Editor: Han Ling CCTV.com
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