A doctor who travels through two eras

Lin Sanqi took advantage of the close communication and information exchange among the doctors.

So they made a private promise that any doctor from another hospital who referred a patient with an infectious disease to Lingnan Hospital would receive a 50 yuan kickback.

For Lingnan Hospital today, 50 yuan would definitely be a loss, but it was not a small amount in the 1960s.

But Lin Sanqi had no choice. In order to attract patients as soon as possible, he could only learn from the Putian doctors in another time and space and use all sorts of unorthodox methods.

Once things are on the right track and there's no longer a worry about patients, then we can cancel it.

Upon hearing the patient's description, Li Xinghuan immediately thought of several drug instructions and clinical guidelines.

Unilateral pneumonia, unresponsive to penicillin treatment, clearly indicates that the antibiotics are not the right treatment. Could it be mycoplasma pneumonia?
Because mycoplasma has a unique cell structure and lacks a cell wall, penicillin, which relies on destroying cell walls, cannot work against it, thus rendering treatment ineffective.

Azithromycin and moxifloxacin seem to be the right treatments.

Thinking about this, Li Xinghuan also began to develop a great interest in these two new antibacterial drugs and had a strong urge to try them out to see how effective they were.

Of course, more importantly, he can get a 5 cent rebate for each injection or box of oral medication, which motivates him even more.

Thinking of this, Li Xinghuan pretended to be serious and said:
"Your condition is indeed serious. Your persistent high fever means that the bacteria have already spread, turning from a localized infection into a systemic infection. If it is not controlled, it can be life-threatening."

The patient and their family members swallowed hard, their expressions becoming even more anxious.

Rich people, who wants to die?

"Here's what we'll do: you go through the admission process first, and we'll conduct a comprehensive and thorough examination. Meanwhile, we'll administer our newly invented antibiotics to you. I'm confident they'll have a satisfactory effect, but the price is a bit of a concern."

A bottle of azithromycin costs HK$30, and moxifloxacin is even more expensive at HK$50 per bottle. I don't know about you...

The patient was initially startled, but upon hearing that there was still hope for his condition, albeit requiring more money, he immediately agreed without hesitation.
"Take care of the treatment, prescribe the medicine, no problem."

Lee Hsing-hwan was overjoyed. Back when it was still Ormond Hospital, retaining patients was incredibly difficult, requiring endless persuasion. Now, it was so easy to do so.
As a result, the 300 beds in the internal medicine ward were filled up in just one morning.

The camera pans to the surgical area.

Unlike the meticulousness of internal medicine, I also need to find out the cause of the illness, what kind of bacterial infection it is, and then I will prescribe the appropriate medication.

Surgeons don't care about these things. Whether it's a skin infection caused by an injury or a general surgical disease like appendicitis or cecitis, they'll prescribe antibiotics for everything.

Some patients, for example, could be completely treated without antibiotics based on standards decades later, such as those with fractures.

Driven by money and profit, the doctors at Lingnan Hospital disregarded all else and started administering moxifloxacin or cephalosporins to everyone.

That's how arrogant these rough-around-the-edges guys are at work; they don't care at all whether the quality control department will dock their pay.

At this time, the pediatrics department was the busiest place in Lingnan Hospital.

Previously, Lin Sanqi had placed targeted advertisements for pediatric drugs in newspapers.

For example, ibuprofen oral solution comes in a red bottle with a cute little doll on it, emphasizing that it is a fever reducer specifically for children.

Similarly, both cephalosporins and azithromycin are granules, and their packaging boxes are all decorated with cartoon character images, highlighting that they are pediatric medications.

In the 1960s, the main ingredient in children's antipyretics on the international pharmaceutical market was aminopyrine.

For example, the well-known domestic compound Analgin is actually a compound composed of aminopyrine and sodium sulfite.

However, with the widespread use of aminopyrine, the side effects have become increasingly apparent, with allergic reactions and liver and kidney damage being the milder ones.

The biggest side effect of aminopyrine is the suppression of bone marrow hematopoietic function, leading to agranulocytosis, which manifests as decreased immunity, recurrent infections, and in severe cases, can be life-threatening.

Some patients may also develop thrombocytopenia or aplastic anemia.

As an international metropolis, Hong Kong's doctors have all received formal medical education and naturally understand the dangers of aminopyrine. However, the problem is that there are currently no other antipyretics for children that can replace it.

For example, aspirin, another mainstream antipyretic, cannot be used in children because it can cause hyperuricemia and Reye's syndrome. Meanwhile, the well-known mainstream antipyretics, acetaminophen and ibuprofen, were not originally invented until 1969.

Doctors are aware of the side effects of aminopyrine, and so are the upper classes, including the highly educated middle class.

This is also why Lin Dai, a famous actress, was willing to come to Lingnan Hospital to be a host; she wanted to obtain drugs with fewer side effects and better efficacy.

Many Hong Kong parents share the same thoughts as the big star.

Whether they are foreigners or Chinese, whether they are from Hong Kong Island or Kowloon, almost all pediatric patients with some means go to Lingnan Hospital.

With a population of 3.5 million, and the 1960s being a period of demographic dividend for Hong Kong, everyone was willing to have more children.

Leslie Cheung, who came from a middle-class family, had 10 siblings, and even Anita Mui, who came from a poor family, had four siblings.

So in the 1960s, there were nearly one million children in Hong Kong alone, which was a huge number.

At that time, only 5 pediatric outpatient clinics were open at Lingnan Hospital, but all the feverish children in Hong Kong came over, and the pediatric clinic was instantly overcrowded.

After receiving a call from Yu Shifen, the director of the pediatrics department, Lin Sanqi rushed to the pediatrics department with Feng Shiqi and He Jiachang.

Good heavens, the three of them couldn't even squeeze through the door of the pediatric ward; the pediatric ward was absolutely packed with people.

"Excuse me, please make way, we are doctors here to provide assistance."

If Lin Sanqi hadn't shouted those words, the patients in line might not have let them pass, assuming they were just cutting in line, since none of the three were wearing white coats.

Lin Sanqi squeezed through the crowd and arrived at the pediatric guidance desk, where Director Yu was already waiting.

Seeing her savior arrive, the usually elegant and dignified young woman was almost in tears:
"Boss, we underestimated the situation and were not well prepared. We originally thought that opening five outpatient clinics would be enough, but look at the state of things now. Our pediatrics department is probably going to be smashed up today."

Why are doctors reluctant to go to pediatrics or emergency departments?
It's not that pediatric diseases are difficult to treat, but rather that pediatric family members are very difficult to deal with. Because they love their children, they often get angry and yell at them, which is considered mild. Some parents with lower moral character will even hit them.

Therefore, pediatrics either doesn't cause any problems, or if something does, it can be very embarrassing.

Lin Sanqi quickly comforted her:

"Dr. Yu, don't worry, I came here with the two hospital directors. If the outpatient clinic isn't enough, we'll increase the number of clinics. Today is the first day of opening, and we can't let any patients come for nothing."

Yu Shifen became even more anxious:

"No, boss. We only have 17 pediatricians in the whole hospital. We've already opened two wards, and we're not enough people. If we add outpatient services, the pediatricians won't have any rest. They'll all resign, and that would be a real problem."

The resignation rate in pediatrics is the highest in the hospital. It's one thing to have low pay and heavy workload, but it's another to be beaten and verbally abused by doctors.

Looking at the pediatric ward, it was filled with children's cries, screams, parents' attempts to comfort them, and the occasional sounds of arguing—it was even more annoying than a market.

Working in such a high-decibel noise environment for a day would usually drive a doctor to the brink of collapse.

Adding more workload to doctors would indeed cause resentment and despair among pediatricians, further intensifying their impulse to resign.

Lin Sanqi wasn't the kind of boss who would exploit his employees; he knew the importance of the license plate restriction policy. The problem was that with the situation today, it was impossible to implement the restriction.

The child has a high fever or some other illness and is groaning in pain. The hospital says, "Sorry, there are too many people. We can't see any more patients. Please leave."

Impulsive parents are capable of anything, and today, every single pediatrician will be beaten.

Lin Sanqi thought for a moment and decided to proceed in two steps, so he instructed Feng Shiqi and He Changming:
"Old Feng, our Lingnan Hospital has a good relationship with Will Hospital on Hong Kong Island. Call Will Hospital right away and ask them to send a group of doctors from various departments, including internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology, especially pediatrics. The more the better."

Tell them that each of our doctors who came to provide support will receive a subsidy of HK$200 per day. Also, tell Dean Philip that I owe him a favor, and that we will definitely help their hospital if needed in the future.

Feng Shiqi had previously spent six months at Well Hospital working on an anti-tuberculosis project and was quite familiar with the hospital's director, so he quickly nodded and said:
"Okay, boss, I'll contact them right away." (End of Chapter)