Three DPP lawmakers with clinical-practice experience called for the restructuring of the country's medical system, perceiving a flaw within the existing framework that sparked off the SARS outbreak.
"The outbreak of the flu-like illness severely hit the country partially because of the long-time neglect of medical research and training at the infectious disease department," Chien Chiao-tung (
Chien, who held a press conference with his fellow DPP Legislators Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Friday, said that urgent reinforcement of infection technology is needed to halt the spreading disease.
All three lawmakers are experienced medical professionals.
The hospital management system must improve its training as well as aid for personnel at the infectious diseases department by doubling the manpower and improving clinical protection for personnel on duty, Chien, formerly a thoracic doctor and a hospital superintendent in Taichung County, said.
Chien explained that, "the infectious departments are unappreciated in most hospitals in civilized countries because modern society has been far removed from life-threatening epidemic transmissions following the development of more advanced medicines in the 21st century."
And this demonstrated that, before the pneumonic disease surfaced, hospital administrations tended to treat their infectious departments as secondary subdivisions with the minimum personnel, the least cost accounting and protective measures and even the poorest payment rules within the national health insurance service.
He said that hospitals around the country usually deploy only one doctor to the infectious department and the maximum nursing staff dispatched to the department is four.
"The outbreak of SARS undoubtedly created the harshest challenge to the infectious manpower reserve because of their lack of combat capability," Chien said.
The lawmakers advised enlisting the military forces to help fight the epidemic. The worsening infection was a warning that the civil medical system had been unable to win the battle against the rampant disease on its own, they said.
The battle against the SARS virus should be upgraded to a mission of biochemical war. Military hospitals should take over the command of centralized medical treatment and hospitalization, while dozens of the DOH-supervised hospitals around the country need to modify their roles in support of the leading general hospital, they said.
"The military medical forces must contribute to epidemic control with its high-speed mobilization capability and biochemistry training," Chien said.
They said the Tri-Service General Hospital of Taipei should mastermind the national SARS-prevention and cure scheme and be declared the centralized treatment base for all SARS patients and suspected cases.
The other 19 army hospitals and clinics scattered around the country can serve as preliminary bases for epidemic sampling tests and temporary centralized infirmaries for cases showing SARS-related symptoms.
Chen Chi-mai, formerly a doctor in charge at Chang Guan Memorial Hospital, demanded the speeding up of the recruitment of supplemental staff to relieve hard-pressed medical personnel. "The required quarantine for medical personnel having contact with SARS patients increased the workload of the limited amount of frontline doctors and nurses," he noted.
The administration should inaugurate standard operation procedures (SOP) for treatment of an epidemic, said Lai, who used to be a physician at National Cheng Kung University Hospital, stressing that modifying diagnostic procedures need to on while the government is pushing for a NT$50 billion special budget to curb the illness.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS