Medical workers inject medicine for Li Zuofan (right) at an intensive care ward of the novel coronavirus infection cases at a branch of Tongji Hospital affiliated to Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, Feb 18, 2020.

Wuhan officials have urged hospitals to spare medical resources when caring and treating patients suffering from other conditions amid the city's fight against COVID-19. 

Wuhan Mayor Zhou Xianwan stressed at a recent press conference the importance of solving resource disparities between COVID-19 infected patients and those suffering from other illnesses.  

Zhou said a list of hospitals designated to provide care for those suffering from other illnesses would be released as the majority of the city's medical resources have been used to fight COVID-19.  

The list includes hospitals that provide treatment for cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular injury, hemodialysis, ENT, chronic diseases, and others, which have been suspended since the epidemic outbreak began.

The release of the list was in response to patient complaints from those suffering from deteriorating health conditions or on the verge of death, and also their immediate family members who were seeking help. 

A 50-year-old female suffering from terminal cancer died at her home on Friday, three days after she was discharged from a Wuhan hospital. 

While the patient was at home, her daughter asked repeatedly for anesthetics and painkillers to alleviate her mother's suffering, while also searching for help to get her admitted into a different hospital, said the daughter's friend, Ashi, to the Global Times on Thursday. 

With the same outcome, Yu Hongwei, a 47-year-old male suffering from acute pancreatitis, was forced to leave a Wuhan hospital on January 31. Yu's condition rapidly diminished as he went without treatment at home, and was later sent to a hospital where he had to wait to receive last-minute surgery. But as the majority of doctors were working on the front-lines of the coronavirus outbreak, experienced medical personnel were unavailable to perform the surgery.  

After his niece sent several messages to local media, Yu finally received the necessary surgery on Tuesday, but it was too late, and he passed away two days later. 

"It is such a tragedy … The surgery could have saved him if his treatment at the previous hospital had not been cut off," his niece, surnamed Liu, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

Similar stories have flooded Chinese social media. Netizens have reposted "help needed" messages for those suffering from conditions unrelated to COVID-19 on social media platforms in efforts to raise awareness for those in need. 

Many have said the designated hospitals to treat non-COVID-19 patients offer hope to Wuhan residents. 

"The city is overburdened with sweat and tears, and so are the hospitals and medical workers in Wuhan. But we are seeing more pneumonia patients recovering and more unheard voices being heard … we are moving in a right direction and will get there soon," said one Wuhan resident on Weibo.