Česky
Mr. Chief, so how did you think 2020 was?
In a word, hectic. Challenging for all healthcare professionals, because the COVID-19 disease that has affected us is a really new one that nobody has experience with. Even though there are specialised infectious wards, when a pandemic like this occurs, of course, the internal medicine ward is reorganised and structured into an infectious ward. I have to say that it was already challenging in the first wave, and even more so in the second wave. However, it is clearly true that the collective of both the internal medicine department and all the collaborating departments, as well as the hospital management and the management of the company headed by the owner, who was very actively involved, behaved in a completely professional manner.
However, it is difficult to assess how successful we were in the fight, because the disease does what it wants. So certainly the experience we have now gained is very valuable. Personally, in all my years of practice, I have never encountered such a massive pandemic. I am now hoping for an effective and safe vaccine that will bring relief, especially to the sick, but also, on the other hand, to health professionals. Because we have hit rock bottom. And that is far from won. Until somehow, and I mean vaccination, the spread of this viral disease is prevented, the patients will keep coming.
What have you done well and less well this year?
We are very happy about the successful certification of two more of our doctors, so when we took a preliminary stock of staffing matters with our hospital management, we agreed that we had achieved this goal. We were also able to add to our roster of younger doctors, largely due to the reputation of our hospital among professionals and the general public. I believe that the trend will continue. I dare to say this also in view of the fact that trainees from medical faculties who visit our hospital are pleasantly surprised, firstly by the facilities and then by the attitude of the staff towards patients and themselves. I appreciate the interpersonal relations in our department and I can say that I have not experienced such relations anywhere else. I also believe that there will be plenty of applicants, not only from among doctors, in the coming years, thanks to the very interesting scholarship programme that has just been launched.
As far as instrumentation is concerned, I can thank especially our owner, who has been supporting the modernisation of the operation and equipment of all departments since the hospital was purchased. One of the many conveniences is that we now have a tablet that allows us to instantly look up a patient's results during rounds. Another is the telemetry (i.e. wireless remote) monitoring of the patient's cardiac action using a personal device. I call it "walkmen". With this device, the patient is constantly under observation, even in a standard ward.
I am very happy that it is in the future plans of the management of our hospital to place a CT - computed tomography scanner here. Because I see this as a great help in the context of diagnostics, which is constantly speeding up. It will save us and the patients time. And that is the wish of us doctors and, dare I say it, of our patients.
For the New Year, we cannot wish for anything other than that all of us may be healthy, less overworked, and that our work may be prosperous.
doc. MUDr. Karel Sochor, CSc.
Head of the Internal Medicine Department and Intensive Care Unit
He has been working at the Rehabilitation Hospital Beroun since 1994
