Fever clinics in Tianjin are expected to increase from 47 to 75 with 225 clinic rooms and 1,500 isolation wards for medical observation by 15 February.

The Tianjin Municipal Health Commission told the reporter on the afternoon of February 5 that the establishment of fever clinics in Tianjin has been progressing steadily to beat the novel coronavirus. The city, while making sure the current fever clinics meet the needs of patients, is working to provide more wards through renovation and expansion.

Isolation wards climb from 131 to 694

Fever clinics have already been set up in the 16 districts of Tianjin to facilitate citizens to seek medical treatment nearby, said Wen Xiaoqing, deputy director of the medical administration department of the Tianjin Municipal Health Commission.

Many hospitals in the city have fever clinics all year round with 131 isolation wards for medical observation in total.

After the outbreak of the 2019-nCoV epidemic, the Tianjin Municipal Health Commission immediately integrated all the medical resources in the city by selecting 47 medical institutions to establish special fever clinics and released their information to the public. By noon, 5 February, the 47 fever clinics, all established in Grade 1 and Grade 2 hospitals, had 694 observation wards with another 258 under renovation.

Daily number of patients received totals between 2,300 and 2,500

According to statistics, the total daily treatment number of all fever clinics was between 2,300 and 2,500 in the past week. “Each fever clinic can not only fully meet the needs of patients but also has a large accommodation space,” Wen said.

At present, all fever clinics operate for 24 hours with a 24-hour hotline, and their medical personnel take turns to work according to the daily treatment number.

28 fever clinics to be added by 15 February

To provide more effective medical care and win the battle against the virus, the city, according to plan, is to add another 28 fever clinics by 15 February, making the total number of fever clinics up to 75 (each one should have three or more clinic rooms and 20 or more isolation wards), clinic rooms up to 225 and isolation wards up to 1,500.

Six steps to receive medical treatment

Wen introduced six steps for patients to seek medical help in a fever clinic:

Step 1. Follow the signs after entering the hospital to measure body temperature at the pre-screening triage center under the guidance of medical personnel.

Step 2. Describe the medical history to doctors and fill in relevant registration forms. This is very important for the doctors to make diagnosis and treatment, which also provides important support for follow-up epidemiological investigation.

Step 3. Go to the fever clinic for interrogation and examination.

Step 4. Have necessary check-ups, including blood test and imaging examination.

Step 5. Doctors make preliminary assessment according to the epidemiological history and examination results.

Step 6. Nucleic acid tests are given to suspected cases.

For the patients confirmed as non-suspected cases, medical personnel will carry out follow-up diagnosis and treatment according to the diagnostic criteria for other diseases.

Wen finally reminded that anyone entering the hospital must wear a mask, and all patients must report exactly who they have had contact with recently.