I. The Provincial Committee of CPC and the Government of Liaoning
Province paying great attention to the prevention and treatment of SARS
After the epidemic disease of SARS appeared in Guangdong 　 　Province, the Provincial Committee of CPC and Government of 　Liaoning Province paid great attention. The leaders gave important instructions repeatedly and called for the health departments to take effective measures, strengthen the preventive controls and ensure the people's health and safety.
Government of Liaoning Province has set up a team to instruct the work of preventing and treating SARS .The team leader is vice governer of Liaoning Province. The vice team leaders are Zhang 　Xiaopu, vice secretary-general of the Government of Liaoning 　Province ,and Jiangchao , director-general of Public Health Department of Liaoning Province (PHDLN) .The members are the persons in charge from the related departments. The office of the team is established in the PHDLN. Its main duty is to coordinate the related departments, such as education, public security, railway, transportation, agriculture, quarantine station, civil aviation etc and launch the preventing and treating work, according to laws. The newly established Medical and Treatment Expert Instructing Team and the Preventing and Controlling Technique Instructing Team are under its leading.
II. Public health administrative departments taking effective measures to prevent and treat SARS
1. Formulating and giving out the related policy documents in time and mobilized to deploy work
On Feb 11,2003, after receiving the fax information from the Health Ministry that the epidemic disease appeared in succession in parts of Guangdong Province, PHDLN paid great attention and immediately held a meeting to study the related handling measures and contact the National Disease Preventing and Controlling Center to understand the developing situation of SARS.
On Feb 13, PHDLN gave out urgent notice about strengthening the preventing and treating of epidemic diseases in spring, in which the work of monitoring, reporting and investigating and handling of the epidemic disease, of the isolation treatment of the patients, of clinical treat and cure, of the precaution and protection of doctors and nurses themselves, of strengthening the supervising and monitoring of epidemic disease in population-densed units, of reinforcing the education propoganda, and of keeping society stable was deployed.
On Feb 18, PHDLN gave out the Diagosing Standards of SARS and other technical schemes issued by the Disease Controlling Department of the Health Ministry . After the urgent national meeting of preventing and treating SARS, PHDLN instructed all the cities to prevent and deal with SARS effectively.
On March 26, PHDLN formulated and gave out the Emergency Handling Plan of SARS of Liaoning Province and revised it on April 11.
On Feb 28, and March 28, PHDLN deployed the work of the preventing and treating of SARS in Liaoning Province at 2 meetings. One was the meeting attended by all the deans from the Disease Preventing and Controlling Centers. The other was disease preventing and controlling professional work meeting.
On April 4 morning, PHDLN held an emergency meeting of preventing and treating SARS of the whole province, which was attended by all the directors of provincial hospitals and persons in charge of health from the Logistic Department of Shenyang Army, Shenyang Railway Bureau , Northeastern Civil Aviation Administrative Bureau and so on. At the meeting the important instruction about the work of preventing and treating SARS was transmitted, and the next step work of our province was deployed.
On April 9, PHDLN held a whole Office's mobilization meeting of preventing and treating SARS, at which the content of preventing and treating SARS of the Health Ministry was passed on, and the leading cadres at all levels and staff especially the members of the Communist Party were called on to carefully practice important spirit of THREE REPRESENTATIVES, to firmly remember the purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly , to strictly abide by the occupational rule at the crucial moment, to develop the sacrifice spirit, never to fear death and danger, and to completely win the hard battle of preventing and treating SARS.
On April 10, PHDLN asked the 14 cities to make a further effort to understand it, fulfill the responsibilities and perfect and establish the leading system and emergency operating mechanisms, according to the requirements of fulfilling the responsibility down to every city and down to individual, ensuring the information well transmitted, and taking effective measures of the Government of Liaoning Province, in which the working emphasis was strictly controlling inputting cases.
2.Setting up directing and emergency handling technical system
Early in March PHDLN set up an SARS Handling Team, of which Jiangchao was the team leader. At the same time, the Epidemic Disease Handling Expert Team of PHDLN, which included many famous medical experts in our province, the Clinical Treatment Expert Team of SARS of PHDLN, and Clinical Consultation Expert Team of SARS of PHDLN, were established. They were responsible for the work of monitoring, examining, disinfecting, isolation, clinical consulting, saving and treating.
PHDLN established a work team of preventing and treating SARS, which included 10 teams. They are general, epidemic situation, medical, on-the-spot, news, papers, foreign affairs, technical, healthcare and rear service teams. The members of Communist Party Team of PHDLN were respectively responsible for handling the epidemic disease work. All the 14 cities were demanded to immediately organize and establish the local leading team and its office to prevent and cure SARS, to found SARS Handling Expert Team and Clinical Diagnosing and Treating Expert Team, to perfect the Mobile Emergency Handling Team and Medical Curing and Nursing Team, to prepare all the work of emergency handling and clinical treating and curing.
3. Establishing correlated surveillance system
PHDLN demanded to manage SARS as type A infectious disease. The diagnosed cases or the suspected cases must be reported by the fastest communication within 6 hours in city and 12 hours in country if they are found.
Liaoning province carried out the provision of "zero report of SARS" since April 7, which means every city must report the SARS epidemic situation on the present day to PHDLN from 3 pm to 4 pm and PHDLN must report the SARS epidemic situation to the Government of Liaoning Province at 10 am next day. If there is severe epidemic situation, report at any moment.
PHDLN has established more than 300 surveillance stations in order to guarantee the complete cover for SARS surveillance.
PHDLN and the Center of Disease Controlling of Liaoning Province have carried out the system of "24 hours on duty for SARS report" and proclaimed the telephone code for SARS report since April 4. The SARS team of PHDLN holds regular meeting at 4 pm every day since 10 April, reviews the situation of SARS prevention and treatment on the present day and arranges the work of next day.
4. Establishing "out-patient clinic for fever" and "green passage in emergency department"
All of the 2nd class or higher class general hospitals, infectious hospitals and specialized hospitals that can diagnose and treat infectious diseases in Liaoning province must establish "out-patient clinic for fever" and "green passage in emergency department", constitute the leader groups and consultation teams of specialists to manage the correlated patients, equip and perfect the observe rooms and isolation rooms just for suspected SARS patients.
The other health institutions must transfer the suspected SARS patients to the hospitals that have established "out-patient clinic for fever" and "green passage in emergency department" in the area in time. The cases suspected by consultation team of hospital specialists must be isolated and observed on the spot and reported to superior department at the same time. The cases suspected by consultation team of municipality specialists must be transferred to the specialized hospitals directly in the vehicles appointed by the city Public Health Bureau. The regulations of preliminary diagnosis responsibility, consultation and referral to other hospital must be performed strictly. The patients who haven't been consulted by consultation team of municipality specialists can't be transferred to other hospitals. The process of transferring to other hospital must be under the charge of a principal.
There has been a specialized hospital that accepts and treats SARS cases in every city. The work of prevention from iatrogenic cross infection in all of the general hospitals in every city has been inspected.
5. Carring out training work
On April 3 and April 4 PHDLN respectively carried out training about SARS to all the staff of health and prophylaxis departments, medical departments and PHDLN.
On April 8, over 150 management leaders and specialists, coming from central hospitals and Disease Control Centers in every city of Liaoning province, were trained about SARS prevention and treatment.
6. Ensuring rapid provision of emergency and protective equipment
Disease Control Center of Liaoning Province prepared thousands of flu masks with twelve-layer gauze, tens of contagion gowns and protection glasses and several cases of sterilization medicine such as peracetic acid. According to the demands of PHDLN All the provincial hospitals prepared correlated medicine and medical treatment and rescue equipments such as respirator and monitor. All the 14 cities were equipped with medical treatment and rescue medicine and equipments, isolated rooms, necessary flu masks, contagion gowns and so on.
The main leaders of PHDLN inspected the isolated rooms, medicine and equipments of medical treatment and rescue in Infectious Hospital of Shenyang City and Infectious Hospital of Shenyang Railway Bureau.
7. Enhancing the personal protection of medical workers and isolation and treatment of patients
Every medical institution has enhanced the prevention from cross infection. The secretions like sputum of patients and articles contaminated by patients must be sterilized strictly. And medical workers must wear flu masks when contacting with patients and pay more attention to personal protection when operating clinically.
8. Spreading propaganda of SARS
PHDLN and Public Health Bureau of every city have established the special telephones for SARS prevention and treatment, mainly to answer the questions about SARS symptoms and treatment for the public.
PHDLN compiled, printed and handed out thousands of publicity issues urgently.
9. Establishing the special consultation telephone and appointed hospitals for foreigners and people from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao.
On April 11 PHDLN established the special consultation telephone and 15 appointed hospitals to treat SARS, including 2nd Hospital Affiliated to China Medical University, Dalian Hospital of Shenyang Railway Bureau and Infectious Hospital of Dandong City, especially for foreigners and people from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao in Liaoning province.
10. PHDLN helped the Customs Quarantine Control Bureau of Liaoning Province to lay down an emergency plan to prevent and treat SARS.