Day and Night

Doctors and nurses of the Pyongyang Municipal Emergency Hospital are under constant tension.

The medical workers of On-site Resuscitation Department No. 1 are a typical example. It is not easy to reach the site and start treatment as soon as possible when there is an emergency case. But the medical workers of this department, always mindful of the fact that the patients’ lives depend on them, are displaying full responsibility in treatment.

One deep night last June, they received a phone call from Haeun-dong No. 1, Phyongchon District. The case was a 65-year-old man who lost consciousness and had difficulty in breathing with low blood pressure. Choe Myong Chol, the head of the department, and other doctors rushed to the site immediately, diagnosed him quickly and accurately and gave the patient first-aid treatment, bringing him back to life.

There was another case last July. When they returned to their office after curing an emergency case, the phone rang. A person in Ryomyong-dong, Taesong District, asked for an emergency doctor’s visit to home. The doctors got on the ambulance without rest. When they reached, they found it difficult to diagnose the patient because he was out of consciousness with a heart attack. His life could be lost unless they made a prompt diagnosis and gave immediate treatment. They immediately administered an injection and applied an artificial respirator. After what seemed an eternity, the heart began to beat and blood pressure rose. In three hours, the patient came back to consciousness. The day was breaking when they got on their way back with a feeling of pride in that they saved a life. 

In recognition of their devoted efforts for patients, people affectionately call them our doctor.