Hu Yu The Duty to Save Lives

by Zhou Xin

After working around the clock on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19 for more than 100 days， Hu Yu， president of Wuhan Union Hospital of China， arrived in Beijing to attend the postponed two sessions on May 20， 2020， to fulfill his responsibility as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference （CPPCC）， Chinas top political advisory body.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19， the fever clinic of Wuhan Union Hospital of China has treated 23，000 patients， and its three branches discharged 3，091 recovered patients. The hospital also provided medical services to 2，129 patients in two temporary treatment centers and offered online medical consultation services to 60，000 Wuhan residents. As president of the hospital， Hu had continuously been working on the front lines to save lives， which he considers his duty as a CPPCC member.

When Wuhan faced the toughest time during the epidemic， 90 percent of patients in his hospital were critically ill， with daily outpatient visits exceeding 800. In the face of the challenges， Hu slept only a few hours each night， and all his waking hours were consumed with the fight against the epidemic. “Despite the great challenges， doctors across Wuhan and from around the country united together to win the battle against the epidemic under the unified command of the Communist Party of China （CPC） Central Committee.”

After more than two months of lockdown， Wuhan finally saw the rainbow after the storm on April 8. Hus hospital was restored to normal operation with medical resources shifting to patients with non-coronavirus issues in addition to comprehensive measures to prevent a rebound of COVID-19.

Reflecting on the tough confrontation with the virus， Hu is both moved and concerned. The outbreak of COVID-19 exposed some weaknesses in public health emergency management. Public suggestions and advice should be given greater importance.“Despite some decent achievements in the prevention and control of the disease， Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed the need to leverage experience and reinforce effective measures to close loopholes and eliminate weaknesses.”

At this years annual session of the CPPCC National Committee， Hu brought a proposal to optimize prevention， control， and treatment systems for public health emergencies. He believes its time to improve diagnosis and treatment in high-level hospitals， promote bigger roles for family doctors， set up a central emergency management committee to coordinate health departments during major public health emergencies， and provide regular public health training for communities. “Hospitals should be ready for both normal operations and emergencies and upgrade their capacities for emergency rescue and treatment，” remarked Hu. “And it is imperative to improve community-level medical infrastructure and implement graded diagnosis and treatment strategies.”

“As a CPPCC member， I do my best to devise feasible proposals， and as a doctor， I do my best to save lives.” Hu noted that during the epidemic， he and his colleagues solved many urgent problems using their own methods which proved effective and resulted in useful experience.

“Our response to the COVID-19 outbreak shined light on the advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the solidarity of Chinese people，” declared Hu.“The epidemic has eased in China while other parts of the world are still grappling with the virus. So， with the concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity in mind， we still need to actively learn and contribute across the board.”