Irish doctor practising in Beijing is on 'constant alert' Irish expatriates

CHINA: At any stage during the working day, Dr Seamus Ryan knows he could be called to the fever clinic.

There, in an isolated area of the hospital, he will change into protective clothing, goggles and gloves, before he can attend his patient, who more than likely will turn out to have an infected throat or chickenpocks.

"It goes against all the natural inclinations of a family doctor. Standing back from your patients, using goggles and gloves, worrying all the time that someone might cough in your face.

"SARS has made practising medicine here very difficult and very unpleasant."

Originally from Co Offaly, Dr Ryan is the only Irish doctor practising in Beijing, where he runs the Beijing United Family Hospital and Clinic, a small, private hospital with four full-time and two part-time doctors.

Patients are a mixture of ex-pats and wealthy Chinese, and most, he says, are very active travellers. "The people who come in are often panicky, particularly if they've just come back from a business trip. We've had no positive cases yet but you have to be on constant alert."

While patients are attending the clinic more frequently because of their anxiety over the disease, the number of non-Chinese patients has dropped in the last week. People are leaving Beijing now, fearing that the longer they stay the more difficult it will be to get out. "One of our doctors, a Canadian, has already left with his family; he only gave 12 hours notice." The other doctors in the hospital are anxious but not panicking, said Dr Ryan .

"We have to wear masks constantly within the hospital, and wash our hands with alcohol when we come in. It's a hell of a lot more difficult to work here."

Tomorrow, the montessori school where Ms Elaine Kinlough from Dublin works will be closing. At the moment she's been told it will open again on May 6th. However, she's aware that, as the numbers of SARS cases grow, it's very much a wait and see situation.

"The worst thing has been the state of confusion. Up until the last couple of days, the only information we were getting was from the Internet. There was nothing on BBC World Service or CNN because of the war. So it has been hard to know what's going on."

The International Montessori School of Beijing is privately run, and unlike state schools SARS guidelines have been in place since the beginning of the outbreak.

"The first thing we were told was just before the holiday week in March. We were told not to travel to any of the infected areas, and letters were sent out to parents telling them that if they or their children went to Singapore, Vietnam or Thailand they wouldn't be allowed back to the school for 10 days.

"After that we got general advice about not getting taxis, or public transport, avoiding crowds, that sort of thing."

While Ms Kinlough and the other non-Chinese nationals she knows have been taking precautions for some time now, the Chinese community around them has only seemed aware of the hazards since the official announcement last weekend.

"People just seem to have been caught completely unaware. They're in a state of panic. We've had time to digest this slowly, but in two days the city has had a bombardment of information."

While Ms Kinlough says she isn't afraid to stay in the country where she has lived for more than six years, she has started to restrict her lifestyle.

"I absolutely still go to restaurants, but I used to go for a hair wash or a massage on my way home, and I won't do that now. I'm an optimist, though, so I'm not planning to leave."

Mr Brendan Smith, a Beijing- based academic, spends most of his time in a "Chinese environment", and he says the atmosphere is "very hairy".

"In work there are just constant rumours and stories going around about the virus; they're more frightening than the disease itself. Every minute people seem to be whipping up anxiety. They are sure that the government is still hiding something."

Mr Smith says he is not hugely concerned for his own health. As a 27-year-old, with no previous health problems, his chances of recovery were he to contract SARS are almost 100 per cent.

Life in Beijing is more frustrating than worrying. "The supermarkets were crammed this evening. Everyone was bulk buying, and there isn't a lot of sense to it. People are cancelling marriages and dropping out of studies. Even the pizza delivery guy isn't allowed into my building any more."