"World Pediatric Day" is a unified action day organized by the Global Pediatric League Commission to support the development of pediatric care around the world in 1967. It is jointly carried out on the second Saturday in October every year to arouse more people's correct understanding of pediatric care and jointly care about the care needs of end-stage patients. This year's World Peace and Care Day is October 8, with the theme of "Healing the Heart and the Community".
At present, Shanghai has achieved full coverage of the sedative care community, and all 246 community health service centers have carried out home sedative care services, of which 108 provide sedative care wards and 79 provide sedative care clinics. The reporter learned that as the only Fengcheng Community Health Service Center in the eastern part of Fengxian District that carries out sedative care wards and outpatient clinics, it did not stop accepting terminal patients in need when the epidemic in Shanghai was at the worst this year.
Now, the youngest patient in the palliative care unit of Fengcheng Town Community Health Service Center is not over 60 years old. When he was sent to his soothing treatment last month, he was in a critical state due to cerebral hemorrhage . His family originally hoped that he could complete the last journey peacefully and dignified. With the careful care and treatment of the tranquil care team, he miraculously gradually stabilized and his condition improved. When the doctor checked rounds this morning, he was able to communicate with the doctors and nurses briefly. "Do you still cough? How about your appetite?" "No, it's good."
Currently, the community's palliative care unit has 13 beds, and the team is equipped with 12 doctors and 19 nurses. The patients admitted are mainly advanced tumor patients with a survival period of 3 to 6 months, including elderly and end-stage patients with chronic diseases. Many patients, especially tumor patients, are suffering from tremendous physical and psychological pain and stress, often accompanied by anxiety and irritability. At this time, curative medical care is no longer effective for them. In order to effectively improve the quality of life of dying patients and their families, the most common thing for medical staff here to do every day is to listen and comfort.
In 2021, the Wei, who had just completed the training period, came to Fengcheng Town Community Health Service Center and officially became a doctor. What she did not expect was that she would become a full-time doctor in the last mile of protecting her life. When I first came, how to communicate well with these special patients and families became one of the most worrying things of this young doctor. "The way of communicating with them is different from that of ordinary patients. They pay more attention to some inner and psychological counseling and speech methods, and they need the company of their family or the company of doctors and nurses." Wei Jin recalled that when she first came into contact with the patient, she was both nervous and afraid, afraid that the way she communicated was wrong, and that the patients felt that she was not close. Now, after a year, through the guidance of teachers in the team, various professional training, and the study of palliative care humanities warding by municipal experts and professors, she has gradually mastered the "skills" of communication. "From the time they came to the ward to send them off one by one, sometimes I feel like they are like my family, and I will secretly feel sad." The feeling of working for a year also made her want to work harder to protect the "last mile" in their lives.
Compared with novices, chief nurse Shen Hong is a "veteran" in the sedative care team. 8 years of experience as a full-time nurse in tranquil care made Shen Hong know that what tranquil care needs to solve is not only physical pain, but also inner fear and unwillingness. Helping patients fulfill their wishes and leaving this world without regrets is a very critical part of peace and well-being.
"Because of the pain, they will inevitably be anxious, panic and even anger. What we nurses can do is care carefully and care in every detail... Listen more often and observe more about what psychological pressure they have? Do you like or dislike? Or regrets, remember them in your heart. At that time, you can discuss with your family or our team to try to satisfy his wishes, so that he can be calmer when he leaves, or even less regrets." Among the many patients who have been cared for, an elderly patient with advanced renal cancer left a deep impression on Shen Hong.A few years ago, the old man found the community closest to home with a palliative care unit with a good ending for himself. At first, he was in a very low mood and often sat alone in silence. During the repeated care, Shen Hong, who is good at chatting, learned that the old man was an old man with no children, and his only niece was also nervous due to various reasons. After communicating with the team, everyone decided to help the elderly relieve their relationship with their niece. "Class ties are sometimes greater than medical treatment. We contacted the streets and contacted the niece through his brother. When we chatted with the elderly, we would listen to him talk about family matters. Now his niece will send things over the holidays. Although we still haven't met, the relationship has eased a little. We are all working hard, and the overall situation of the elderly is much better than before." Shen Hong said.
End-stage disease is cold, but under the care of a sedative and humanistic care team, patients and their families will feel the warmth of life taking care of life. Therefore, this has also become one of the reasons why other wards of Fengcheng Town Community Health Service Center have stopped accepting patients in the worst months of the epidemic, but the Palliative Care Unit still insists on accepting them. Hu Ping, secretary of the Party Branch of Fengcheng Town Community Health Service Center, told reporters that during the epidemic, considering that this group of people was special and they also had such needs, they did not stop accepting patients in the palliative care unit during that period. "At that time, the family members were asked to take good nucleic acid and provide corresponding protection. Under the strict compliance with relevant prevention and control requirements, the patient's family members were allowed to stay in the ward and stay in the hospital for a long time and stay in a fixed manner. This was also to meet the last wish of the patients."
Fengcheng Community Health Service Center successfully established the Shanghai Pure and Care Ward Area in 2014. So far, the ward has admitted nearly 200 terminal patients with advanced tumors with a life cycle of less than 3 months, multi-organ failure and other irreversible end-stage patients. Among them, from March to May, when the epidemic was the worst, 4 patients were accepted, and they allowed them to complete the last journey of their lives comfortably, peacefully and dignified.
Reporter: Wukoutian
Editor: He Yuxin
