Coronavirus: Medical profession fights back with shocking ICU pictures
Days after the government aired its Covid awareness ads, a Sydney hospital released its own, more confronting images.
Days after the government launched its Covid awareness campaign with a video of a young woman gasping for air in a hospital bed, a Sydney hospital has released it own images and video to show the reality of the outbreak.
St Vincent’s in the city’s inner east distributed the confronting images of a Covid patient in its Intensive Care Ward, showing a 53-year-old man ventilated and struggling to breathe, with nurses dressed in full PPE to stop the spread of the virulent Delta strain.
It’s the image doctors and nurses want Australians to see, to highlight the dangers of the virus and warn people to follow public health orders and stay at home.
The hospital is currently treating five patients in ICU, 10 in ward beds and monitoring 30 patients in the community for any signs of deterioration.
There are now 71 people across greater Sydney being treated in hospital for Covid-19, with 20 people in intensive care and four of whom are ventilated.
It’s the first time the healthcare system has battled the highly-infectious strain, triggering hospitals across Sydney to convert entire wards and expand ICU beds to accommodate an expected influx of Covid-19 patient.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant has repeatedly warned doctors are seeing younger patients admitted to hospital, urging anyone eligible to get vaccinated.
“Of the 21 people in ICU, one is in their 20s, two are in their 30s, two in their 40s, five in their 50s, five in the 60s, three in 70s, and two in 80s,” Dr Chant said on Wednesday.
“The reason I take the time to read out those age profiles, it really is to dispel the misconception that Covid is mild for younger age groups. It can impact anyone.”
The images come as a 47-year-old southwestern Sydney Covid patient shared a video from his hospital bed pleading for people to take disease seriously.
Khaled Elmasri delivered the message in Arabic to his community which is battling the most severe outbreak in Sydney.
The father-of-four was hospitalised a week ago after he was struggling to breathe, and almost ended up in intensive care.
“I have learnt my lesson the hard way,” he said in Arabic.
“Of course, I know and know Covid-19 is a real disease, but I don’t think that before now, I took it seriously enough,” he said. “I was careful, but I don’t think I was careful enough. I should have committed 100 per cent.”
“It is only now after a few days that I can talk and breathe a bit more normally,” he said.
“Take the vaccine program seriously. I didn’t take it seriously enough to put my name down for a vaccine beforehand. With hindsight I feel like I should have done that.
“I have learnt my lesson the hard way. I am now going to get the vaccine,” he said.
There have now been two deaths linked to the Sydney outbreak, including a man in his 70s and a woman in her 90s
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