A group of doctors from the Clinical Center of the University of Sarajevo (KCUS) addressed the public with a dramatic letter. At the beginning of the letter, the doctors point out that they are sad, helpless and worried more than ever, and that their professional obligation and ethics require them to react.
- Unfortunately, currently there is no more efficient and safer way to systematically help seriously ill fellow citizens and those who will soon be, so we are forced to point out the real situation and hell that currently reigns at UKCS, says doctors at the beginning of the letter.
They point out that they firstly wrote internally, warned and informed the UKCS Management about the difficult situation in this institution, but that nothing was done about it.
- Specifically, we wrote to the General Director of KCUS Prof. dr. Sebija Izetbegović, head of the Clinic for Anesthesia and Resuscitation, Prim. mr. sci. dr. Amela Katica - Mulalić, head of the Clinic for Infectious Diseases doc. dr. Rusmir Baljić and the head of isolation ward Podhrastovi prim. Dr. Nermini Bajramović.
And that letter reached the public and some media published it, and it can now be found on the internet. In addition to the above letter, we have repeatedly warned the most responsible people of KCUS on several occasions. Unfortunately, nothing has changed, in fact it has, for the worse, the letter points out.
Particularly alarming and frightening is the part of the letter concerning the operation of the respirators.
- We demanded that the authorities check whether the technical capabilities (electrical installations, reserves in case of power outages and oxygen) of the building can meet a larger number of seriously ill patients. We noted then that the flows used in both non-invasive and invasive mechanical ventilation of COVID-19 patients go up to 60l / min. We wrote that it happened on several occasions that there was a drop in oxygen pressure, which in some respirators results in cessation of work and fatal consequences, ie. rapid patients death!
NOTE: None of the above has been done, only a few days ago, in the midst of the deadliest wave, we started expanding the capacity of oxygen stocks. It is alreay too late "fellow doctors" because the oxygen pressure drops every day and because of that people die! We know and have the names of the people who died that way, the letter states.
In the letter, the doctors especially point out the problematic nature of the respirators, which, through the raspberry grower Fikret Hodžić, was procured by the Government of the Federation of B&H headed by Fadil Novalić.
- We must especially point out the problem with the so-called "Raspberry" respirators! It is completely unacceptable that they have passed the verification! As physicians, we do not have very important PEEP (positive pressure at the end of expiration), which is very important in the treatment of lungs attacked by Covid-19, similar to ARSDSU (acute respiratory distress syndrome).
Also, we cannot control the volume of oxygen delivered to the lungs because it shows the opposite of what it actually delivers, either too little or too much oxygen. The device often stops suddenly, so it continues to work with unknown values! Not to mention how scarce the important options necessary for severely ill patients to survive (there is only volume controlled, no pressure controlled, which would be necessary for COVID patients). "Raspberry" respirators cannot keep the patient on HIGH FLOW and "consume" " a lot of unnecessary oxygen. The chances of a patient connected to a "Raspberry "respirator surviving are nil, believe us, none," the letter warns dramatically.
In the rest of the letter, doctors also complain about other catastrophic conditions at KCUS, from inadequate beds, lack of medical equipment, untrained nurses to work with COVID patients to poor hygienic conditions, both at KCUS and in the isolation ward at Podhrastovi.
