A medical team from Germany led by the head of the Pulmonology Department of the Siloah Hospital in Pforzheim, Dr. Thushira Weerawarna, is in Brasov this week for an exchange of experience in fighting coronavirus with their local peers.

They also came with a donation of medical equipment and consumables worth 50,000 euros, the result of a campaign initiated by the president of the Romanian-German Association in Pforzheim, local councilor Oana Krichbaum.

Apart from ventilators, the donation includes a bronchoscope, which is a first for the Emergency County Clinical Hospital (SCJU) in Brasov.

"At the initiative of Mr. councilor Cristian Macedonschi we launched a fundraiser in March, when the COVID-19 developments turned critical, to support the hospital in Brasov with the purchase of a ventilator. All our members donated, we raised a certain amount, but this device is expensive and we were aware that we would not be able to collect the full amount. In this context I wrote to my friend, the head of the Pulmonology Department of the Siloah Hospital. He donated money, but he told me that he would like to do more. At that time the borders were closed, but he suggested that when they open, he should come to Brasov with a team of professionals and equipment for an exchange of experience," Oana Krichbaum told AGERPRES.

According to Brasov local councilor Chistian Macedonschi (of the German Democratic Forum of Romania - FDGR), the gesture of the German doctors "is a response to the humanitarian actions Romania initiated in April", when a team of Romanian doctors was on a coronavirus mission to Italy, and emphasized that the campaign was an initiative of the civil society, but that German and Romanian companies subsequently joined in.

Dr. Thushira Weerawarna, who came to Brasov accompanied by his assistant and two residents, both born in Brasov, said that he is not yet familiar with the structure of Brasov hospitals, but that he was impressed by the professionalism of the doctors of the Brasov County Emergency Clinical Hospital.

A pandemic like this is a test for any hospital. Let us compare the situation with a car garage: if you have 20 cars and only three drivers, only three cars will work. My mission and my desire is to work with my colleagues and determine the best method in the long run. The colleagues we met here are a very good team of professionals and the signal we want to send out is: we stand by your side, we want to support you. They have knowledge, they have experience, but the coronavirus situation is new to all of us. Maybe they will learn from us, maybe we will learn from their experience too, (...) maybe they will optimize their own system, or maybe we will improve ours. We are trying to bring professionals together to deliver in this difficult time, said Dr. Thushira Weerawarna.

Head of the SCJU Brasov Emergency Department, Dr. Cristina Vecerdi, explained that although similar procedures had been previously performed in the hospital, Monday marked a first in the use of the bronchoscope, in the COVID-19 context.

"It's a first in that we discussed the COVID-19 cases individually, we looked at the imaging and the patients who should undergo the procedure and how this procedure leads to diagnosis. There is a workshop underway at the Brasov hospital, which is being held by one of Germany's top 20 nurses, a specialist in respiratory therapies, with doctors and nurses from SCJU Brasov," Vecerdi said.

The German team of doctors, accompanied by Oana Krichbaum, the chairman of the Bundestag European Affairs Committee Gunther Krichbaum, Germany's deputy ambassador in Bucharest Kai Henning, and Secretary of State with the Health Ministry, Dr. Dragos Garofil, met on Tuesday with Brasov County Prefect Catalin Vasii, with County Council president Adrian Vestea and with Brasov mayor George Scripcaru.

At the press conference that followed the meeting, Prefect Catalin Vasii said that an agreement was made with the German partners to turn this partnership into a long-term cooperation. AGERPRES (RO - author: Diana Dumitru, editor: Karina Olteanu; EN - author: Simona Klodnischi, editor: Simona Iacob)