Peking University, September 4, 2020: After a three-month life-and-death battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, Liu Xinmin, president of Peking University First Hospital (PUFH), returned to Beijing safe and sound. However, the battle is not over. Confronted with the now global nature of the pandemic, Liu said although significant success has been achieved in Wuhan, this is only the first half of the anti-pandemic war. “In order to defeat the virus, we have to prevent and control the epidemic situation on the one hand, as well as preparing for routine medical duties,” Liu added.

Liu Xinmin

Despite his experience, Liu was still shocked by the severity of the situation upon arrival in Wuhan. “When we arrived in Wuhan on February 1, our airplane was the only one at the airport, and on the way to Wuhan nothing but ambulances or police cars could be seen. Needless to say, numerous inexpressible feeling came across us all,” Liu recounted.

The first problem to arise was a lack of hospital beds, so the reconstruction of the inpatient wards became the top priority. In Liu’s opinion, it is not easy to reconstruct inpatient wards according to the patient admission criteria of infectious disease, not to mention the supporting facilities such as oxygen supply and respirators or the division between clean, semi-contaminated, and contaminated zones.

After reconstructing the inpatient wards, Liu and his team members aimed to decrease the fatality rate of their patients. They employed a multi-disciplinary team method, which provided personalized treatment for every patient, and applied remote medical consultation. Moreover, the team put emphasis on patients’ mental health, helping build up their confidence in recovery through consultations as well as more personal touches such as sending loving cards. They also advocated combined therapy of traditional Chinese and Western medicine.

Thanks to the unremitting effort of Liu’s team, the fatality rate in Sino-French City Branch of Tongji Hospital in Wuhan was reduced from 6% to 2.8%. During the nearly 60 days after taking over the special ward, the medical team from PUFH received and cured 113 severe and critical patients, 100 of whom were discharged after treatment. “As a medical team from PUFH, we have made a due contribution to the front,” Liu said.