In just twelve months, Corona has fundamentally changed life. Not only the everyday life of the individual, but almost all areas of society? especially the health system. Virologists and doctors suddenly found themselves in the media spotlight, sometimes even becoming political advisers. “I think it helped create understanding,” says Dr. Matthias Held. The lung specialist and medical director at Klinikum Würzburg Mitte accompanied the second lockdown in a diary in the Main-Post. How did he experience these months? A conversation about critical reactions, unrealistic TV series and moving patient fates.
Question: After a year of fighting the coronavirus and two lockdowns? how are you and your employees? How is the mood in the clinic?
Dr. Matthias Held: Overall, I’m doing very well and the mood among the employees is good. At the end of this week, we only have a few Covid 19 patients in the clinic and were at the Missioklinik site for a few hours without a corona case. This is of course a nice moment and it shows that the situation is developing positively. You have to be aware of such moments? in the clinic as well as in life.
Good moments in the pandemic year were rather rare; fear of the virus, restrictions, and uncertainty dominated. What was the greatest challenge for you?
Held: For me personally, communication in the crisis was a major challenge. An enormous amount of exchange had to take place between the individual clinic areas, the locations and with the employees. In order to create understanding, we had to explain why we were moving staff or reducing operating room capacities. Talking and explaining to one another was important.
You explained not only internally, but also to the outside world and accompanied everyday hospital life in the form of a diary in the Main-Post. How did you perceive that? do you regret it?
Held: I have received a lot of positive feedback from patients, readers and other medical professionals. I think the diary carried information and there is no way I regret it. It was always about not presenting everyday hospital life in a one-sided way? therefore I myself reflected more and tried to perceive different shades and perspectives.
How did colleagues and employees react?
Held: In the beginning I was approached a lot, for example in the elevator or in the corridor. But the response was positive. But at some point it was no longer a topic of conversation.
Corona has brought some doctors and scientists into the focus of public attention nationwide. Some have had bad experiences with it and have been attacked. Did you have that too?
Held: I heard a critical voice, got a negative reaction. The one was of the opinion that the coronavirus was not that bad and that there was no threat at all. But when you have seen the seriously ill patients and the efforts of the employees here in the hospital every day, then such a reaction was a slap in the face. At least that’s how I felt. Reacting emotionally, however, would not have helped. I had no choice but to continue to report factually.
How do you generally judge that doctors and virologists sometimes became advisors to politics during the pandemic?
Held: It is important to involve the specialist level in order to be able to make well-founded decisions. At the same time, professionalism has many facets. Certainly not everyone is qualified to advise on everything.
In your diary, you yourself gave an insight into everyday medical and nursing routine at the Würzburg Mitte Clinic. Why?
Held: I think it helped create understanding ?? about why restrictions were necessary. Hospitals have capacity limits. And with all good will and with all endeavors to be there for people as a practitioner, one cannot live beyond one’s means. The supply in the pandemic was and is not just a question of empty rooms, beds and ventilators. In the end, the staff is the limiting factor and the work in nursing is difficult. I have the impression that many people can hardly imagine that. Of course you know pictures from colorful TV series? but that is not our reality. I am often asked what I do when I am not a surgeon, when I am not operating. One can only understand that when it is reported.
In fact, media coverage during the crisis was controversial and often criticized. Right?
Held: From my point of view, there are always two ways to communicate. Take vaccines and the lack of supplies, for example: Here you can see that doses are missing and that many citizens are waiting impatiently. But you can also emphasize that it is unbelievable to have corona vaccines after just one year. This not only affects the media, but all people ?? you can always communicate facts one way or another. I think it is crucial that we strive for balance, especially when we as doctors go public. Because polarizing is easy? but it doesn’t help.
So less polarizing? and also less negativism?
Held: You need hope, you have to look ahead optimistically. When it comes to loosening lockdowns now, I also say: be careful and rather gradual. But only to warn of a third wave and to stand still, that would be wrong. So far we have mastered the crisis well.
Good or did you master the second wave better than the first at the hospital?
Held: From my point of view, the second wave was more challenging overall: the employees have been straining for months and the social restrictions are also taking longer this time. That hurts everyone. In addition, significantly more corona patients came to the intensive care unit. But: We were better prepared for the second wave because we were already challenged in the spring? for example through the numerous outbreaks in retirement homes. Even then, we were able to adapt many processes in the clinic.
Which fate have you particularly moved in the past few months?
Held: We had two long-term ventilated Covid patients who we had to assume in December that they would not survive their illness. They left the intensive care unit at the end of January. When you see the relatives by the bed who can hug their loved one again after a long time? That’s great.
On the other hand, the corona situation was extremely tense, especially around Christmas, and the number of patients was high. Were there days when you thought: We can’t do it?
Held: Between Christmas and New Year’s Eve the dynamics were really enormous. I was very worried about how this should go on in the first week of January. That was shortly before the vaccination started and we had more sick employees. The tension was very high for me too. At that time there was hardly any free time for me, not a day went by that I was not at the hospital. Thank god it worked then? we got it done.
And now, after a year with corona patients: would you say you have the virus under control?
Held: We can face the virus for the moment. I think if we manage to vaccinate across the board, we have a good chance of having it under control at some point.
Priv.-Doz. Dr. Matthias Held has been Medical Director of the Würzburg Center Clinic since October 2020, where he is responsible for the care of Covid patients. He was born in Kassel in 1970 and completed his medical studies and training in Würzburg. The 50-year-old’s focus is on pulmonology. He set up the pulmonary hypertension center at the Missioklinik, and has been the chief physician of the medical clinic since 2018. During the second lockdown in the Main-Post and at www.mainpost.de/corona-tagebuch, he regularly provided insights into everyday hospital life in a diary.
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