Rebirth of a Doctor Without Regrets

Chapter 120 Intelligence from the Insider

As dawn broke, only a few early-rising sanitation workers were on the streets, slowly sweeping the road with brooms, making a soft rustling sound.

The light in the dean's office at Chunda No. 2 Hospital had been on all night.

Chen Changhai sat behind the large desk, his face resting on his hand, looking sullen. His eyes were bloodshot and his chin was covered with specks of gray stubble.

Staying up late is a basic skill for doctors, and the hospital director has honed this skill to a master level.

But after staying up all night, he looked rather haggard.

On the desk was a thick stack of documents, all of which contained operational data from the cardiology departments of Chunda First Affiliated Hospital and the Provincial Hospital.

The margins of the page were filled with Chen Changhai's scribbled annotations and calculation formulas, and in some places, large question marks were drawn.

These are the traces left by his sleepless night, repeatedly calculating, deducing, and comparing.

Yesterday evening, Chen Changhai obtained the most crucial intelligence he wanted from two mysterious informants planted at the First Affiliated Hospital and the Provincial Hospital respectively—the two hospitals' surgical volume, records of difficult cases treated, and lists of research achievements over the past six months.

Even the follow-up development plans for the two hospitals were listed in detail.

This intelligence was like a boulder, pressing down on Chen Changhai and making it hard for him to breathe.

He picked up the calculator, his fingertips trembling slightly from exhaustion, and checked the data again.

The Department of Cardiac Surgery at Chung Hsin University First Affiliated Hospital already has a strong foundation, and in the past six months, it has added two senior chief physicians. The number of Level IV surgeries has remained stable at over forty per month, with difficult cases accounting for more than 90%. In addition, two SCI papers are about to be published.

The provincial hospital, relying on its strong administrative resources, has attracted several leading experts in the field of cardiology and thoracic medicine within the province. Its research projects and free clinics are thriving, and its radiation and driving indicators are far ahead of others.

Even with Wang Xiao's new surgical techniques and Lin Gaoming's overall coordination, the Second Hospital's cardiac surgery department still has obvious shortcomings.

The number of routine surgeries is less than two-thirds of that of the First Affiliated Hospital, and the number of difficult cases treated is far less. The only scientific research achievement is Zhu Chunhua's SCI paper.

What to do? Chen Changhai paced back and forth in the dean's office.

He wasn't without ideas; he had repeatedly considered more than a dozen possible approaches. However, no matter how he adjusted his strategies or allocated resources, if the Department of Cardiac Surgery couldn't increase the volume and difficulty of surgeries in a short period of time, and address the shortcomings in handling difficult cases, it would inevitably lose to Chungda First Hospital in the end.

The qualification of a provincial-level cardiothoracic disease center is the only chance for the Second Hospital to turn things around in the past few years.

Once you miss the opportunity, catching up later will be extremely difficult.

He carries not only his own future on his shoulders, but also the future of hundreds of medical staff at the Second Hospital.

Chen Changhai didn't close his eyes all night, drinking pot after pot of tea, and his ashtray was piled high with cigarette butts.

The thought of the Second Hospital losing made him restless.

As dawn broke, Chen Changhai finally put down his pen, made up his mind, stood up, walked to the safe behind his desk, entered the password, and the safe door clicked open.

There was no gold or silver jewelry inside, just a bulging black card holder.

There was no gold or silver jewelry, nor any valuable calligraphy or paintings in the safe; there was only a bulging black card holder lying quietly in the corner.

He had kept this card pack hidden for many years, and he absolutely did not want to use such methods unless absolutely necessary.

But now, for the Second Hospital, for the Department of Cardiac Surgery, and for those who trust him, he has no other choice.

He picked up the cardholder and ran his fingertips along the smooth leather surface. He felt a mix of emotions: helplessness, guilt, but mostly a determination to take a desperate gamble.

As he always does when attending events, he changed into a sharp dark gray suit, tied a tie, and put on a brand new Hermès belt.

But as soon as he stood in front of the mirror, he frowned, shook his head, and turned around to change into a low-key navy blue executive jacket.

Then he pulled out a pair of the oldest black leather shoes from the shoe cabinet, with even a little wear on the toes.

This time, we're going to ask for a favor, not to put on airs like a dean. The more low-key and down-to-earth we are, the more we can get closer to people.

After tidying his clothes, he picked up his wallet and drove straight to the Chuncheng City 120 Emergency Command Center.

The 120 emergency command center is located on the outskirts of the city, surrounded mostly by low-rise residential buildings and small shops.

Chen Changhai parked his car and walked into the central hall.

The hall was bustling with activity, a stark contrast to the quiet of the early morning.

A mixture of sweat, instant noodles, and a faint smell of urine hit him, causing him to instinctively wrinkle his nose.

In the dispatch hall, a dozen dispatchers sat at their workstations, wearing large headphones, their fingers flying across the keyboards.

They completely ignored the stranger who walked in.

Everyone looked tense, and the pace of work was so intense that there was hardly any time to drink water or go to the toilet.

His gaze swept over several workstations in the corner, and he vaguely saw several mineral water bottles hidden under the desks, with suspicious yellow water stains remaining on the bottle mouths.

Chen Changhai sighed inwardly. As the hospital director, he knew all too well how difficult the emergency care industry was, where people worked non-stop and couldn't leave their posts.

After all, if they leave and miss an emergency call, they could lose a life that could have been saved.

Many people can only secretly use bottles to relieve their physiological needs at their workstations. This hardship, and even embarrassment and humiliation, is hard for outsiders to understand.

No one greeted him, and he didn't linger, heading straight for the director's office deep inside.

The director of the 120 emergency command center was his classmate and close friend from university. The two had even gone through thick and thin together in the emergency department of the Second Hospital, so their relationship was undoubtedly deep.

But they hadn't seen each other for many years, and they hoped that this time they could ask him for a favor smoothly.

The office door was closed, and Chen Changhai raised his hand and gently knocked on it.

There seems to be a sound inside, but then again, there isn't.

Chen Changhai waited for a full five minutes.

Unable to wait any longer, Chen Changhai frowned, a sense of disappointment rising in his heart. He thought that Hu Jiancheng might be away on a business trip, and decided to turn around and go back first.

But just as he turned around, the office door creaked open.

A fat old man with a bloated belly and big ears poked his head out.

His hair was messy, and his face still looked sleepy. He was wearing a blue floral pajama set and slippers, and his belly was so round that it looked like it was about to burst out of the pajama set.

He is Hu Jiancheng, the director of the 120 emergency command center.

Seeing Chen Changhai standing at the door, he paused for a moment, then a look of surprise appeared on his face, his voice still tinged with sleepiness: "Changhai? What brings you here? So early?"

Suppressing his surprise, Chen Changhai smiled gently and patted Hu Jiancheng's arm.

"Jiancheng, I'm sorry to disturb your rest. I have something urgent to attend to, and I couldn't wait any longer, so I had to come to see you early this morning."