密着！地域医療の要「新人救急医」…医師不足の今、患者に求められる「リテラシー」

The Tottori University Hospital Advanced Emergency Medical Center in Yonago City is a vital part of regional medical care, operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Amidst widespread concerns about a physician shortage, a promising new male emergency physician was born this spring. BSS cameras closely followed the harsh frontlines of emergency medical care. Here's what they discovered: "Code Rouge, Code Rouge. Driver on standby." "How long have you been on standby? Can you talk?" The Tottori University Hospital Advanced Emergency Medical Center is a tertiary emergency medical facility that accepts critically ill patients with high urgency 24 hours a day. We follow the front lines of this "last bastion of regional medical care," protecting lives. "(Ringtone) Hello, this is Dr. Fujii from the Tottori University Advanced Emergency Medical Center. Call request? Yes, I understand." A man frantically responds to a call for a doctor's car. Dr. Fujii Naoto, 28, is from Kurayoshi City. After graduating from Tottori University School of Medicine and completing his residency, he joined the center in April of this year. Dr. Naoto Fujii, Advanced Emergency and Critical Care Center, Tottori University Hospital "I'm going to put an IV in your neck now." "It'll sting a little." Critical patients are constantly being brought into the Tottori University Hospital Emergency and Critical Care Center. It's a demanding environment that requires quick decisions and a variety of skills. Dr. Naoto Fujii "I used to think emergency care was very scary, but when I become a doctor and start treating patients, I know there will be times when patients' conditions suddenly worsen, and they'll collapse right in front of me. So, instead, I wanted to study hard and become a doctor who can save lives, which is why I initially chose emergency care." "We'll use autologous cultured epidermis. The surgery will take about two hours. The blood loss will be about 200 ml." On this day, Dr. Fujii was scheduled to operate on an elderly man in his 70s who had burns over 50% of his body. Joining him in the operation will be burn treatment specialist Dr. Takahiro Ueda. He is also the former attending physician for Shinji Aoba, the suspect in the Kyoto Animation arson and murder case. Director of the Advanced Life Support and Emergency Center at Tottori University Hospital, Takahiro Ueda "We've made significant improvements in the last three or four years since we treated the patient we helped four years ago." This treatment, which began at Tottori University Hospital last year, involves transplanting a liquid containing normal male skin tissue and cultivated "autologous cultured epidermis" onto the affected area. "Dr. Ueda was the one who taught me about emergency care, so he's the one who gave me the opportunity to enter the emergency department." The operating room temperature is 37°C, set high to prevent the patient from developing hypothermia. The approximately hour-long operation, drenched in sweat, was successfully completed. Dr. Naoto Fujii "The key was whether we could keep the patient population up to this point without succumbing to infection, so I feel like we've managed to complete it successfully. It was hot." Center Director Takahiro Ueda "Also trauma, intensive care, and sepsis. Well, everything!" "He's the first resident doctor from Tottori University, in his third year since graduation, and I feel like I have to properly train him." 9:30 PM. That day, Dr. Fujii was in the ward. Dr. Naoto Fujii "Can you feel it? Can you? Ah, it certainly is cold." On-call duty is an essential part of being an emergency physician. For 17 hours, from 4 PM to 9 AM the next day, we care for patients hospitalized in the ICU and emergency patients who cannot be admitted to primary or secondary emergency departments outside of clinic hours. Dr. Naoto Fujii "How many cases of heatstroke have we seen this August?" "I don't know, I can't count." "Sometimes we just can't keep up." Fortunately, the hotline didn't ring that day. Dr. Naoto Fujii "Peace is the most important thing. There are times when you're not here at all, right?" "Oh, right." The next morning. Dr. Ueda and I had just finished sharing information about the patient. "Code blue, code blue. Start the engine." "Oh no, this is the third call at 10:30." When the emergency call rang, Dr. Ueda immediately boarded the helicopter. "Have a safe trip." The center sees over 5,000 emergency patients annually. While there are young doctors like Dr. Fujii starting their careers as emergency physicians, there is a serious problem right now... Director Takahiro Ueda "There's definitely a shortage of doctors and nurses who provide acute care." There's a doctor shortage. The number of doctors in the prefecture, including at Tohoku University Hospital, is below the required number, and the number of doctors providing acute care is particularly low. And there's also a troubling situation... ...