My Medical Skills Give Me Experience Points

Chapter 1038: Chapter 409: Hospitals Shifting Responsibility, the Terrifying Gangrene Patient (Part 2)

In the hospital, we often see patients whose limb injuries don’t seem particularly serious and feel that with proper treatment, they can be saved.

Yet doctors insist on amputation.

And if you switch hospitals, the result is the same.

It’s not that doctors are reckless with people’s lives, but the consequences of necrosis are extremely serious. Sometimes patients and their families can only see the surface, while doctors, with their professional knowledge and experience, can anticipate the progression of the illness.

Knowing full well that the limb cannot be saved—rather than risking life later on, it’s better to decisively amputate to save life.

Zhou Can may sometimes appear indifferent, but when he sees these scenes, he finds it hard to control his sympathy.

Even though he has been disillusioned countless times by patients and their families, he still maintains an emotional side.

Especially when he sees a child of only three or four years old, kneeling on the ground with his mother, desperately pleading with the doctor to treat his father. The sight is heart-wrenching.

"The specialist department won’t take them?"

Zhou Can walked over to ask the nurse on duty.

"General Surgery won’t take them, the Intensive Care Medicine Department asked them to contact General Surgery, and we here simply aren’t equipped to handle it. That’s why we suggest the patient go to the Provincial People’s Hospital for better treatment."

The emergency nurses are all seasoned veterans.

They’ve encountered all kinds of patients and families.

Basically, those who can stay are adept at dealing with situations and can adapt quickly.

When faced with such difficult patients, the hospital is not foolish. After being bounced around by the specialist departments, the emergency nurses will find ways to persuade the patient’s family to transfer to another hospital for treatment.

Small hospitals passing off to big hospitals—that’s how it goes.

A critical patient arrives at a township health center or community health service station, and you’re told to rush them to a major hospital for rescue. Would you transfer them? The family wouldn’t think twice; they would immediately agree to the transfer.

Actually, even big hospitals like Tu Ya would pass off patients.

There are rules that say patients cannot be refused.

So more often they use gentler methods or covert tactics, such as not administering medication, which basically resembles conservative treatment.

Family members watching their loved ones in critical condition, while the hospital withholds medication, must feel desperate!

After cursing the hospital through gritted teeth, they quickly arrange a transfer on their own.

There’s also the trick the nurse used earlier: saying that such-and-such hospital is more professional and has a better track record in treating this illness; you’d better seek treatment there.

The implication is something like, "Please, don’t come and cause trouble at our hospital; go to that other one instead!"

"We’ve already been to the Provincial People’s Hospital; the doctors there told us the problem is very serious. Their treatment plan is amputation. If we want to save the limb, we must rush to Tu Ya for treatment."

The female family member looks to be a woman of thirty-seven or eight years, by her clothing and demeanor, likely a country woman or a low-income city worker.

Now that her husband’s life hangs by a thread, her heart must be filled with panic and despair.

Zhou Can listened and grimaced slightly.

These big hospitals are quite interesting, passing patients around to one another.

"Have tests been done?"

Zhou Can asked.

"Our hospital hasn’t done any tests; he had some tests done at the Provincial People’s Hospital."

"Let me take a look at the results!"

Seeing that there was finally a doctor willing to handle the situation, the female family member quickly stood up and took out the test reports from the bag, handing them all to Zhou Can at once.

"How did he get injured before?"

"He fell off a motorcycle. My husband and I brought the child into the city for work. To save money, he got stitched up at a fairly reputable clinic locally. We didn’t expect the wound to get infected, and it turned into this later."

The female family member is certainly concealing some truths.

The progression from infection to gangrene takes a considerable time and doesn’t happen in just a day or two.

Zhou Can couldn’t be bothered to probe further.

It’s simply about saving money, dealing with it at home after infection, and holding on to luck.

Added to this is the lack of professional medical knowledge, which is how it became like this.

The clinic’s inadequate handling of the wound and substandard suturing techniques are also key factors. Given this family’s situation, suing that clinic for compensation seems unlikely to succeed.

For the vulnerable, surviving in this society is truly not easy.

"From his blood routine and urine routine test reports, there are already signs of septicemia. Amputation to save life should be the first choice."

After reviewing them, Zhou Can gave his assessment.

"Doctor... I beg you to show some kindness and save my husband! He is the pillar of our family. Without his leg, how will our family survive in the future..."

The woman was already weeping softly as she spoke.

The child, seeing his mother crying so sadly, also held onto her pant leg and cried alongside her.

Many other patients nearby were watching the commotion.

Each family minds its own business and does not care about others’ troubles.

When tragedy strikes others, the bystanders only watch for amusement’s sake and won’t be overly concerned.

Zhou Can, seeing the woman and child crying sorrowfully, indeed felt pity and moved closer to carefully examine the patient’s purulent wound. Just getting a little closer, the pungent smell of rotting flesh assaulted his senses.

This smell was far more unpleasant than that of rotten eggs.

Suppressing his nausea, he inspected the wound carefully and could see some exposed red granulation tissue.

"Let me ask my mentor to help you out!"

Zhou Can took the test reports to find Dr. Xu.

Admitting such a severely ill patient is no small decision. What if something happens after admitting them?

He certainly didn’t dare to make that call on his own.