It was an encounter so moving that it served as a wake-up call for
a senior medic at one of Beijing's top hospitals.
Fu
Yan, chief nurse of the AIDS ward in Beijing
You'an Hospital, had spent much of her life making the last few
months and days of sufferers of the deadly virus as comfortable as
possible.
But the sight of a young man stricken with the disease five years
ago made her realize just how many AIDS patients suffer in
loneliness with only hospital staff for company.
"Such a feeling remains in my mind now," she told a conference held
yesterday in Beijing, which called on all medical staff as well as
residents in the capital to offer more help to people infected with
AIDS.
While society is paying increasing attention to the spread of
HIV/AIDS, care and help for AIDS patients are far from enough, said
Xu Lianzhi, director of the AIDS ward in Beijing You'an
Hospital.
Xu
said her colleagues always talk with their patients to encourage
and comfort them. They also try to persuade patients' families, who
usually turn their back on loved ones when they fall, to give
support.
"Years of work on the AIDS ward has made me realize AIDS cannot be
curbed by the efforts of medical staff alone," Xu said. "AIDS
patients need a home."
The "home of love and care," was set up on November 26, 1998, based
on the AIDS ward of the hospital. This is the first
non-governmental organization in China that aims at looking after
AIDS patients.
Apart from treating patients, the "home" also trains grassroots
medical staff from all over the country and carries out public
welfare activities.
The "home of love and care" for AIDS patients is not alone in the
capital. Beijing Ditan Hospital has also set up "home of red
ribbon," which also offers support and care for people with
HIV.
"HIV/AIDS is like a fruit knife, which is dangerous because it is
sharp," said Pu Cunxin, a famous film star who is one of China's
AIDS Prevention spokespersons.
"But no one is afraid of a fruit knife," he said. "And people
should not be afraid of HIV/AIDS, either, if they know how to keep
themselves away from it." Pu vowed that instead of always speaking
publicly about AIDS, he would do something concrete for people
infected.
(China Daily November 15, 2001)