A day in the life of a Hungarian Covid hospital – shaking VIDEO

YouTube - Dr. László Elek Kórház és Rendelőintézet Orosháza

Covid diaries from Orosháza 2021. This is the title of the 15-minute-long video uploaded to YouTube by the Dr László Elek Hospital and Clinic of Orosháza.

In Hungary, the coronavirus disease has caused incredibly high numbers in terms of mortality and patients treated in hospitals, numbers that sadly became record data in Europe.

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The situation seems to be mitigated to some extent, thanks to the vaccination process. As almost half of Hungary’s population has received at least the first jab, the country has started to reopen. So much that starting from this Wednesday, for instance, the Lupa Beach will be open to anyone without the restriction to have the immunity certificate.

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This positive development and amelioration of the circumstances are the fruits of the hard work that health care professionals and everyone working in a hospital provide every day.

The short film drives us through a 12-hour-long shift in the hospital, filmed on April 23, with the help of a professional nurse and the chief physician of the ICU. Many people contributed to the film by sharing their experience. Professional caregivers, nurses, physiotherapists, doctors and even some patients talked about how they lived the past year. As infostart.hu writes, one of the film’s protagonists even shares her experience of how she first said she would not get vaccinated, but after having worked in the covid unit, she now convinced her whole family to do so.

The video claims to

present how the hospital of a small town fights the virus, especially all its employees as a group and how they collectively, as a strong entity, go against an illness never seen before.

They show us drawings and heart-warming letters sent by family members to cheer up their loved ones; they share with us how emotionally challenging it is to see someone of their own age having difficulties breathing and having to be ventilated. They shared the details of the everyday pressure and physical exhaustion, how tired and sweaty they all are after 4 hours long shift when they finally get to take off those vast, several layers thick suits protecting both the patients and those caring for them.

“Since Autumn, it has been different, emotionally.

It is a fact that we saw more younger people being ill, in worse conditions…

This first dragged us down, but since then, as they get better and better and can leave the ICU, it is an incredibly good feeling” – says Ágnes Márkus Patakiné, deputy chief nurse and professional assistant of anaesthetics.

One of the patients talks about how fragile he was during his illness. Moreover, he needed to have surgery on his lungs. He feels better now and is working with a physiotherapist to recuperate completely.

He talks with great appreciation in his voice about all doctors and nurses.

He also adds that what he misses most is his family.

The video also shows the process of a new patient with pneumonia arriving at the hospital, how professionals hold their first consultation and start the treatment.

Despite all this, they all have something positive to say. From encouraging words of a doctor, advising everyone to get inoculated as it is the only way to stop this madness, to the smiling face of a patient who had just had his birthday lying in a hospital bed, celebrating without his family or a simple birthday treat. They all say something positive and motivating that drives them forward every day.

The video ends with a lovely letter from an old patient written to all hospital employees. They all say that these letters and these words give them the strength to continue.