Cape Town – It is imperative that those in the front line of the Covid-19 pandemic are provided with the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) to feel secure and not under threat while trying to save lives.
With the onset of winter and the resulting increase in the spread of the coronavirus, it becomes important to enable Covid-19 patients to be treated in their own homes and thus avoid overburdening the hospitals and healthcare systems
This has led to the establishment of the Masks for Medics team, comprising Dr Sonia Hugh, Dr Julie Etellin, Dr Anthony Smith, Dr Sarahan Brophy, Dr Natalia Novikova and Dr Lauren Lee.
With government funding and traditional channels of distribution not covering PPE for healthcare workers tending to home-based Covid-19 patients, the Masks for Medics team have launched a campaign on donation-based crowdfunding platform BackaBuddy to bridge the gap and provide essential PPE to the healthcare professionals that have seemingly been forgotten.
The team aims to deliver these services to beneficiaries in the Cape Town CBD, the Cape Flats and in the many township communities. Having all served as doctors for 20 years and tended to patients from every demographic, these doctors understand the value that all people bring to their communities – from the youngest to the oldest.
“In living memory, no doctor has seen the likes of what has swept the world over the past few months with the Covid-19 pandemic. After witnessing the toll the Covid-19 outbreak has had on China, Italy and New York, one thing is certain, we don’t know what we are in for and need to be prepared to avoid devastation,” said Smith.
With the collective knowledge gained from Covid-19 experiences around the world, the Masks for Medics team are aware that hospitals may not be able to accommodate all Covid-19 patients. Because of this, many patients will need to be cared for by healthcare workers and family members in their own homes.
"Healthcare workers who tend to patients at home include nurses, caregivers, emergency responders, doctors, mental health workers, palliative care workers and anyone who is caring for very sick Covid-19 patients in their own homes. For this PPE and other medical monitoring equipment is required," Masks for Medics said.
"The correct PPE ensures that healthcare workers don’t get infected, and also prevents them from infecting other healthy people. PPE includes gowns, masks, visors, gloves and sanitisers. Monitoring equipment include pulse oximeters and thermometers.
“There's been so many campaigns to support front-line healthcare workers in hospitals across the country, which is immensely important.
"However, with our campaign, we are focusing on the forgotten: the home-based carers, the nurses caring for the elderly who are most susceptible to the virus, the paramedics and emergency response personnel called out to help those in need and the palliative care practitioners caring for those on their deathbeds," said Smith
The critical PPE equipment includes gowns, masks, visors, gloves, sanitisers and the necessary essential medical equipment such as monitors and thermometers.
The campaign went live on 14 May and has thus far raised a total of R120 245.33 towards their fundraising target of R500 000, with contributions from 70 donors both locally and abroad.
“As lockdown eases, community spread increases and as winter approaches we expect the number of positive Covid-19 patients to exponentially escalate.
"Compounding this are the gross inequalities of the South African socio-economic terrain, with many communities experiencing limited resources, overcrowded living conditions and profound vulnerability to the economic downturn this is your opportunity to truly make a difference in your community," said Smith.
Support this campaign on BackaBuddy: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/masks-for-medics