Suggested solutions to enhancing the capability and capacity of
fever clinics
To improve the capability and capacity of fever clinics in China for the
combat of pandemic, we recommended several countermeasures accordingly.
First, more fever clinics are expected to be established and activated
promptly as a strong first-line of defense for the fight against
pandemic. To enhance the service of quality, formal and professional
training should be strictly and regularly implemented before healthcare
workers are sufficiently educated and allowed to appear in fever
clinics. Before deciding to set up fever clinics, constructive demands
and adequate budgets also need to be taken into account, especially
given their specific purposes of triaging potentially infected patients
and minimizing the nosocomial infection risk that require quarantine
spaces and high-standard ventilated condition. Moreover, how to
standardize the evidence-based procedures in fever clinics requires
further research. It is of great importance for the policy-makers to
fully ensure the sufficient supplies of personal protective materials in
fever clinics, which essentially is an ethical requirement.
Notwithstanding being challenging, how to reserve and allocate the
equipment in a state of preparedness becomes an urgent topic for the
government and healthcare system to address such pandemic in the future.
Likewise, how to promote self-protection awareness of the healthcare
system and individuals warrants further investigation, training and
endeavors to ensure occupational safety and control nosocomial infection
risk. Furthermore, efforts to adequately guide the surge of patients
into fever clinics and to rapidly expand the capacity of existing fever
clinics when needed, may be another worthwhile exploration to further
enhance their functional roles in triaging patients and control
nosocomial infection risk.
Conflict of Interest : None declared.