Contingency Nursing Management in Designated Hospitals During COVID-19 Outbreak

BACKGROUND: In December 2019, early cases of COVID-19 were identified in Wuhan, China. By late January 2020, it was evident that COVID-19 was rapidly spreading and represented a national health emergency. In order to contain the spread of COVID-19, China adopted a centralized treatment plan by appointing designated hospitals in each region. Shantou Central Hospital is a Grade A Class A general hospital in Guangdong Province. It was appointed as a provincial COVID-19 designated treatment hospital on January 21, 2020, to provide all COVID-19-related treatments for the city of Shantou. The nursing department at Shantou Central Hospital is fully responsible for hospital nursing administration, nursing human resource management, nursing quality management, and all nursing tasks related to hospital medical care, nursing, teaching, scientific research, preventive healthcare, and so on. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the role of nursing management in transforming a general hospital into a designated hospital for treatment of COVID-19 patients. METHODS: We undertook a series of nursing management measures in the strategic phase and the implementation phase. FINDINGS: Through a series of nursing management measures, all COVID-19 patients admitted to our hospital were cured and discharged. All non-COVID-19 patients and staff hospitalized during the same period were not infected with the virus. During this period, our hospital completed 7,466 operations. Hence, our nursing management measures were effective. CONCLUSIONS: Our efficient nursing management system, first of all, effectively mobilized all available manpower; secondly, up-skilled and trained personnel within a very short period of time; thirdly, provided reliable logistical support for front-line protection equipments; and finally, motivated nurses during this very difficult time to make a significant positive contribution to the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.