The threat of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) puts Hong Kong health care service to dispute. Frontline workers felt themselves put at risk with tremendous workload brought by a spurt of hospital admissions and extreme tension related to contact with highly contagious patients. The infection with previously healthy hospital staff and the proportion of patients requiring imminent hospital management are particularly appalling. Different reactions were noted from the healthcare workers serving in hospitals and community settings. The more we see different sides of the story, the more we truly and sincerely desire to deal with the hassles we are facing.
In this Special Issue, remarkable first-hand experiences are reported. Stories of problem-solving and decision-making on managing emerging infections, launching policies to disease detection and deriving guidelines for precautions to control local and international spread of disease are generously revealed. It demonstrates the importance of communication between different levels of staff or workers in the hospital units and community care contexts. The collaboration, trust, understanding and caring concerns emerging between managers and the first line personnel are most valued.
The sections contained here capture vivid experience of individuals or groups of nursing colleagues and health-related workers in days fighting against SARS. In view of the implausible workload, we arranged interviews for the contributors if required and sent back the draft work to them for comments. Exceptional gratitude is extended to all the contributors in spite of their busy schedule.
Within limited time, the editorial board claims no perfect work in compiling snapshots of real-life experiences in the shadow of SARS. The whole idea of the collection of these exemplars is based on a keen awareness of the need to continue dialogues with nursing colleagues to excel professional practice and better prepare for any unforeseeable battle.
On behalf of the editorial board, condolence is sent to the health care colleagues who gave out their lives after caring SARS patients. We are proud of their boldness to fight until the last minute of their lives to fulfil their professional mission.
Marian Wong (Dr)
Editor-in-Chief
在「沙士」的蹂躪下，香港的醫療服務面臨重大的考驗。前線醫護人員由於要面對沉重工作量及面對高度傳染性的病人而感到莫大的壓力。此外，最震驚的是，不少向來身體健康的市民及醫院員工亦相繼染病，而要接收入深切治療部治理。這些感染患者亦有不少因病重而逝世。在醫院及社區工作的醫護人員面對這種境況亦有不同的迥響。最重要的是當我們能觀摩到疫情中重要事件及洞察其全貌，便可以更精闢地去面對此刻醫護界的問題。
今次特刊中記載的都是難能可貴的個人經驗，在這些親身經歷的故事中我們可以體會到不少在處理感染，制定及推行控制傳染的政策上所涉獵的解難及決策過程，當中亦蘊藏不少關鍵性資料，幫助我們了解到溝通、合作、信任、關顧乃醫護人員處理疫情困境的重要元素。
特刊主要是捕捉前線醫護人員及有關人士在抗炎期間的真實經歷。為了配合各位應邀同業在疫潮中的繁重工作，編輯組成員分別安排及進行訪問，在執筆記錄珍貴資料後，再轉交當事人覆核內容。編者特別為各位筆者及受訪者能在百忙中抽空與我們分享個人經驗，表示萬二分謝意。
由於籌備的時間短促，編輯組感到在收納及整理這些抗疫故事時尚未做到盡善盡美，我們編製特刊背後的信念就是藉著探討和研究醫護界同業在疫情中的集體經驗後，能夠凝聚力量，共同尋求增長護理專業發展的路向和充分準備對抗未來的戰役。
最後，編輯組特別向今次因照顧病人而染病殉職的幾位醫護同業致敬，並以他們的義舉作為護理界同業的典範。
王慧蓮 (博士)
總編輯