When I'm on the night shift, all the department heads can't sleep.

The access light on Liang Shumin's bed was still on.

The round-trip phone call for patients with dental infections was still on.

Inside the stoma bag beside Feng Jianping's bed, turbid liquid was still dripping down.

The area near the door of the emergency intensive care unit was so crowded with three lines that even the air felt tight.

With one hand on her work phone, Nurse Zhao used the other to tuck the tubing next to Feng Jianping's bed toward the inside of the bed rail.

"Don't press down on it. Whoever moves the bed should check the tubes first."

Feng Jianping's wife stood half a step away, reaching out her hand and then pulling it back.

She was just now holding the old film and asking if it was an old problem, but now her eyes only dare to follow the stoma bag.

"Would it be better if this bag leaked more?"

Nurse Zhao didn't look up.

"It's not just about glancing at the bag. We need to check the blood pressure, urine output, temperature, and also the subsequent culture. Don't touch the bag; call the nurse if anything happens."

The woman nodded, her fingers pinching the corner of the old film bag, then slowly loosening it.

On the other side of the door, an intensive care nurse was still leaning halfway out.

"Director Qin, Liang Shumin's family is still asking if the blood pressure-raising medication has lowered the blood pressure."

Qin Hai looked up.

"What did the intensive care doctor say?"

"No price reduction."

The nurse opened the door a little wider and spoke in a very low voice.

"Urine output is still low. We just had a follow-up electrolyte and blood gas test. The nephrologist told us to wait for the new results. Don't just tell the family to put them on a machine without their consent."

Qin Hai flipped the folder in his hand to Liang Shumin's page.

The edges of the paper had been softened by repeated handling.

"Who's inside?"

"The ICU and vascular surgery staff are both on duty. The nephrologist just came to the computer to check the results."

Qin Hai handed the folder to Lin Ye.

"Resubmit the original timeline for the emergency room visit. When you arrive at the ICU, don't explain the prognosis. If they ask about your vasopressors, let the ICU handle that."

Lin Ye took the folder.

"clear."

Just as he was about to turn around, Nurse Zhao's other phone rang again.

The names of the operating room circulating nurses were displayed on the screen.

Nurse Zhao glanced at it and immediately put it on speakerphone.

"explain."

There was background noise from the suction device on the other end of the phone, and the voice sounded muffled through the mask.

"The patient with the dental infection has been transferred to the intensive care unit. The tracheal tube is still in place, and there is still purulent discharge from the neck drainage tube. The body temperature is 38.8 degrees Celsius. The oral and maxillofacial surgery department said they still need to monitor the airway edema tonight."

Nurse Zhao tilted her phone towards Qin Hai.

Qin Hai didn't answer the phone, but only asked one question.

"Blood oxygen?"

"From 95 to 96, we didn't dare lower the oxygen level. The anesthesia team said not to think about removing the tube for a while."

Who signs the record sheet?

"The oral and maxillofacial surgery department has signed off on it, and the ENT department has also provided supplementary consultation opinions."

Qin Hai looked at Lin Ye.

"Did you hear that?"

Lin Ye has already turned to the page about dental infections.

11:05 PM.

He was transferred to a close monitoring area after the surgery.

With tubing.

The neck drainage tube is in place.

Continue to monitor for airway edema.

He wrote very slowly.

Time, destination, tubes, body temperature—not a single detail can be missed.

At the edge of my field of vision, a blue text box silently lit up.

[Emergency Room Warning: Increased Process Risks.]

[Currently disclosed information: All three high-risk patients have entered specialist or intensive care procedures, but their conditions are not stable; there are still risks of gaps in the record-keeping chain, handover chain, and family notification chain.]

[Risk areas: False reports of safety, unclear boundaries of responsibility, and gaps in subsequent information.]

Lin Ye's pen stopped next to the words "Family Notification".

Only people, times, numbers, phone numbers, and signatures can be written on the paper.

The landline at the nurses' station rang twice.

The voice of Zhou Min, the deputy director of the day shift, came through the phone, slightly hoarse from not having finished her shift.

"Director Qin, the medical affairs department just asked who has the original emergency room records for these three lines."

Qin Hai picked up the phone.

"In the emergency room."

The sound of Zhou Min turning over papers was very clear.

"They're not chasing anyone. Expert Du is still reviewing the records from the past two days, saying that these cases all involve interdisciplinary collaboration, and it would be best to have a complete timeline by tomorrow morning. Don't wait until morning to add to it."

Qin Hai glanced down at the folder in Lin Ye's hand.

"You can take it."

Zhou Min paused for a moment.

"He also said that residents can report abnormalities, but the records cannot be written as if the residents are in charge of the entire hospital."

Qin Hai's lips twitched, but he didn't smile.

"He doesn't need to teach me this sentence."

He tucked the receiver over his shoulder and pointed to the lines Lin Ye had just finished writing.

"Lin Ye wrote down what he saw in the emergency room, what he did at what time, and who was present. The treatment decision was written as the specialist, the admission decision as the ICU, and the family's explanation was written as the corresponding department. Whoever wrote it, signed it themselves."

The sound of Zhou Min turning pages on the other end of the phone stopped.

"Then follow this procedure. I'll come back later to pick up the copy."

"Weren't you off work?"

"I'd like to."

Zhou Min lowered her voice a little.

"Liang Shumin's son just asked the nurse again why no one told him in advance that he might have less urine output after the surgery. He doesn't understand who is responsible for which part, and he just thinks the hospital is passing the buck."

Qin Hai looked at the cold white light at the entrance of the intensive care unit.

"Then let's not let the records be passed around."

He hung up the phone and slapped the folder back into Lin Ye's hand.

"Did you hear me clearly?"

Lin Ye nodded.

"Only write 'emergency room' in the 'emergency room' section."

"more than."

Qin Hai lowered his voice.

"Don't write that you saved three lives in the emergency room. If you see something unusual, report it. Write down who reviewed it, who made the decision, and who took over. Saving lives isn't about taking credit, and the record isn't a biography of a hero."

Lin Ye's fingers tucked behind the edge of the clipboard.

"Know."

Nurse Zhao chimed in from the side.

"Family members also relayed the information. Don't just write 'information' in writing. Whether the person understood it or not, there needs to be a conclusion."

Qin Hai looked at her.

"You'll teach me?"

Nurse Zhao re-wound the tubing at the foot of Feng Jianping's bed.

"I taught him to get scolded less."

Lin Ye did not respond to that sentence.

He walked up to Feng Jianping's wife and lowered his voice.

"Can you repeat what the doctor just said? It's not a test, I'm just worried you'll misunderstand and tell your family later."

The woman paused for a moment, then looked away from the stoma bag.

"He said that the pain from the kidney stones isn't over once it's gone. There's an infection inside, and the tube is only being used to remove a small amount. We still need to monitor the blood pressure, fever, and urine output."

Lin Ye wrote this sentence into the notes.

When Feng Jianping's wife saw him writing, she became anxious.

Did I say something wrong?

"That's right."

Lin Ye stopped writing.

"Just say it like this. Don't tell the relatives that he's already better."

The woman's throat moved slightly.

"I dare not say it well."

Near the entrance to the intensive care unit, Liang Shumin's son was led to the door by a nurse.

The man still clutched the access card in his hand, his face no longer showing the drive he had when he first arrived, only the grime of exhaustion.

"Director Qin, my mother asked me to ask: the blood pressure medication hasn't lowered it at all. Does that mean my condition is getting worse?"

Qin Hai did not answer on behalf of the critically ill patients from across the emergency room.

He handed Liang Shumin's emergency room timeline to Lin Ye and pointed to the entrance of the intensive care unit.

"Take him to the emergency room. Then let the intensive care unit doctor take over."

Lin Ye walked over.

He did not say "no".

It didn't say "yes".

He turned the paper to the first line.

"When your father arrived at the emergency room, his blood pressure was 76.44. Before being transferred to the operating room, it dropped to 68.36. What the emergency room can tell you is why we couldn't wait for the X-rays and why he had to be sent directly to the operating room."

The man stared at the two sets of blood pressure readings, a white mark appearing on the access card in his hand.

"And now?"

Lin Ye closed the paper.

"Now listen to what the intensive care doctor says."

Inside the intensive care unit, the on-duty doctor just happened to push the door open and come out.

"Liang Shumin's family."

The man immediately turned around.

Lin Ye stepped back half a step, giving up his position.

Qin Hai saw it but didn't say anything.

Just then, the printer at the nurses' station spat out a piece of new paper.

Before the paper was even fully exposed, Nurse Zhao had already reached out and torn it off.

She glanced at the numbers and looked up.

"Feng Jianping's new blood pressure."

Qin Hai asked, "How much?"

"Ninety-one and fifty-four."

Nurse Zhao handed over the paper.

"It's a little better than before, but still low."

Qin Hai pressed the paper down onto Feng Jianping's record page.

"Don't write 'stable'."

Lin Ye had just returned to the nurses' station, and hadn't even put down his pen yet.

The landline rang again.

This time it wasn't a critical case, nor was it an operating room incident.

The nurse at the triage desk spoke very quickly.

"Director Qin, there's someone outside with abdominal pain. The family said he was fine just now, but he didn't stand up when his number was called."

Qin Hai lifted his eyelids slightly.

"Blood pressure, heart rate?"

The person on the other end of the phone was flipping through the triage form.

"Blood pressure 10264, heart rate 110. He said his stomach hurt, but he wouldn't let me touch it, and his face was covered in sweat."

Lin Ye's pen stopped at the edge of the notepad.

He hasn't seen the patient yet.

An extra line has appeared on the edge of the record sheet: "Unable to stand up when called, cold sweat, heart rate 110."