Medical professionals from non-State institutions are providing relief for exhausted teams in Hubei province. Zhou Wenting reports from Shanghai

Medical workers practice donning protective gowns in Shanghai last month, before setting out for Wuhan, Hubei province. (GAO ERQIANG / CHINA DAILY)

Qiao Shaoting, a nurse from Hohhot, capital of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region in North China, practiced every step of putting on and taking off protective medical clothing with a colleague. The two women stood face-to-face, surrounded by several colleagues who observed and corrected possible errors.

"Remove the first layer of the protective suit along with the first layer of disposable gloves, and then wash your hands. Remove the second layer of the suit and gloves, and then wash your hands. Take off the face mask, and then wash your hands," the 24-year-old recited the moves as she performed each step.

"We learned these procedures in nursing school, but that was years ago. Most of us don't wear these suits in our daily work in hospitals, so we needed to practice," said Qiao, who works for Meinian OneHealth Healthcare Group, a private medical services provider.

Qiao was speaking on Feb 19 at a hotel near Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.

The following day, she was part of a 200-strong team that flew to Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, to provide support for medical staff in the city, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The 40 doctors and 160 nurses－the first team of such size from a private medical institution to win approval from the National Health Commission－were dispatched to two makeshift hospitals and nine medical quarantine sites in the city that are providing treatment to patients with mild symptoms.

"We've seen that the battle in Wuhan has reached a critical stage and as medical workers we feel obliged to rush to the front line as the country confronts this contagion, irrespective of whether we come from State or private hospitals," said Zhai Xiaoqing, medical director of Meinian OneHealth, who is leading the team.

She added that some team members participated in the fight against the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in China in 2003.

"We have advantages, as we have 30,000 doctors and nurses in more than 700 branches throughout the country. Also, we are one of the leading players in preventive medicine, making our doctors and nurses in the fields of respiratory care and radiology suitable for the work in makeshift hospitals and quarantine sites," she said.

Medics receive vaccinations. (GAO ERQIANG / CHINA DAILY)

Replacements

Statistics from the Chinese Medical Institution Association, an NGO, show that 70 private medical institutions across the country have provided assistance to Wuhan, and have dispatched more than 900 medical professionals to front-line hospitals.

Zhai said a further 100 doctors and nurses from Meinian One-Health were standing by to be sent to Hubei and replace local medical workers, who had been working for more than a month without a break.

Qiao said that rather than feeling scared, she was excited to join the battle.

"I've looked forward to helping patients in Wuhan since late January. Saving lives is an instinct among medical workers," said the nurse, who is working at a makeshift hospital, monitoring patients and dispensing medication.

On Feb 14, Tao Qin, a chief nurse from Meinian OneHealth's branch in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, was one of the first to apply to join the team when the chairman of the board published a notice saying the company intended to form a support force for Hubei.

Within 24 hours of the notice being posted, more than 2,600 doctors and nurses from the company had volunteered to work at front-line hospitals in Wuhan.

"I have experience of taking care of SARS patients in Xiamen, Fujian province, and I felt compelled to go to the front line to make a contribution as a nurse," said Tao, who worked in intensive care units at State hospitals before moving into the private sector three years ago.

"My family showed strong support and my father said my work on the front line would provide me with an opportunity to show my value to society and serve the motherland," said Tao, who is working at a medical quarantine site in Wuhan.

She said the workload undertaken by her and her colleagues during each shift－four hours in hospitals and eight hours at quarantine sites－would be much less stressful than that endured by local doctors and nurses and the first batch of medical workers from across the nation who joined Wuhan's battle in late January.

"I have several friends who were in the first batch of medical workers dispatched to Wuhan. They said the big challenge was that they had to refrain from drinking, eating or going to the restroom for at least 10 to 12 hours during a shift," she said.

Zhai, who helped treat SARS patients at a hospital in Jiangsu, said team leaders had provided a 12-chapter work guide that covered all related areas, including jobs, diets, rest, protective supplies and handovers with the original teams at hospitals and quarantine venues.

"We prioritized professional and detailed preparation above an overflowing passion when joining the front-line battle," she said.

Team members get used to wearing protective suits. (GAO ERQIANG / CHINA DAILY)

Deep experience

Earlier this month, 64 doctors and nurses from Meinian One-Health's branches in Hubei joined front-line hospitals in the province to treat patients.

Doctors and nurses from other private medical institutions－such as Huainan Eastern Hospital Group and Huangshan Shoukang Hospital, both in Anhui province, and Shenyang Xinglin Medical Group in Liaoning province－arrived in Wuhan recently, bringing rich experience in fields such as respirators, critical care medicine and infectious diseases.

"We won't relax our efforts to organize the medical workers who come to aid Wuhan until this outbreak is over," said Shi Lingzhi, chairman of Shenyang Xinglin.

Zhai said Meinian OneHealth explored all its resources to obtain protective equipment from home and abroad for the medical professionals, and finally purchased products from Japan and New Zealand just as supplies were running low.

"Not only have the doctors and nurses devoted themselves to the fight against the virus, but people from other departments in our company, such as marketing and administration, have done the same," Zhai said.

In addition to repeatedly practicing putting on and taking off the protective medical suits, Qiao and her colleagues were divided into groups to receive training about safety protection, be vaccinated to boost their immunity and get their hair cut to make it more convenient to don protective clothing when working.

Qiao had her long hair cut into a boyish crop. "Right now, safety is more important than looking pretty," she said.

Contact the writer at zhouwenting@chinadaily.com.cn