Hungarian doctor was awarded the British Empire Medal by Queen Elizabeth II

Dr Tamás Szakmány was appointed MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II. The Critical Care Consultant was recognised for his work during the pandemic in a hospital in Wales: for the coordination of medical attendance for severe patients.

The British Empire Medal is awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The Sovereign makes all appointments to the Order on the advice of the Government.

Professor Szakmány finished his secondary studies in Érd and became an anesthesiologist at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Pécs. He went to England in 2004 to gain professional experience. He was working in Liverpool when he heard about the plans to reduce personnel at the university clinic of Pécs, so he decided not to return to Hungary.

He became the Critical Care Consultant of severe patients at Newport’s Royal Gwent Hospital.

A little later, the University of Cardiff invited him to be one of their professors, writes 444.hu.

Dr Szakmany shared his experience with his Hungarian colleagues on several platforms. It was rather shocking when he drew a comparison between the Hungarian and the Welsh medical attendance at the critical care unit, highlighting the high number of doctors, nurses, and professionals working there, as opposed to Hungarian hospitals. One of his Hungarian colleagues, after hearing about the situation, said that “Tamás should not talk about it anymore because our hearts are crying.”

He gave an interesting interview to Válasz Online, together with a colleague of his also working in Great-Britain. He said that it would be good if the hospital staff knew about the quality of medical attendance and the number of beds, nurses, and ventilators compared to other institutions. This way, it would be easier to decide whether a method said to be successful really was working, or there is another hospital doing something better.

“Without this, colleagues working back home are like pilots who need to find the runway without the ground-lights. Maybe he will be lucky, but when it comes to intensive medical care, it is better to minimise the luck factor.”

He gave an interview to Szeged TV back in December where he was straightforward and said that

“The same patient suffering from coronavirus has a lower chance of survival in Hungary than in England.”

He added that twice as many patients end up on a ventilator in Hungary than in Wales. The problem is that in Hungary, even up to 80-90% of coronavirus patients who need artificial ventilation will die.

Hungarian hospitals are trying to overcome this issue with a new method of ventilation. 

Read alsoHungary to develop its own coronavirus vaccine

Source: 444.hu