Doha: Nursing staff act as a protective and preventive shield against the transmission of any infection, including COVID-19, said Ebtisam Abdullah, Head Nurse at the Leabaib Health Center, Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC).
“Our nurses help protect the medical staff and all Health Centre visitors from possible contraction of COVID-19 on a daily basis. This is achieved through a set of precautionary measures taken by the nursing staff before patients walk into any Health Centres,” said Abdullah. Among these measures include a quick desk test, checking of body temperatures, asking COVID-19-relevant questions, and taking note of any respiratory symptoms or symptoms similar to COVID-19, such as coughing, sore throat and fever.
According to Abdullah, visitors at all the Health Centres are treated as suspected COVID-19 cases. “In the event any of the above symptoms are detected, the patient will be treated as a suspected COVID-19 case and asked to sanitise his or her hands and to wear a surgical mask. They will then be admitted into the isolation room immediately,” she said.
Following admission, the nurses carry out further precautionary measures by checking vital signs and performing the COVID-19 swabbing test. After the test, the nursing staff explain further steps that the patient will need to take, including the quarantine procedure.
The nurses also ensure that patients complete the Undertaking Form, based on which he or she will be given a standard booklet from the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), containing important guidelines which are to be used as a reference during the quarantine period. Once a suspected case is discharged from the isolation room, the nursing staff supervise the disinfection process as part of PHCC’s efforts in combating the spread of COVID-19.
According to Abdullah, nurses also make sure to follow up with home-quarantined patients. “Calls are made daily to offer patients support and to monitor their health condition, while answering any queries they might have with regards to their current health status,” she said.
Another significant role played by nurses is that of creating and spreading awareness about COVID-19 among patients. These include reminders on the importance of practising social distancing, as well as the need for regular hand sanitisation and the benefits of wearing a face mask. “If a positive COVID-19 case is detected, we adopt all the measures outlined by MoPH,” said Abdullah.
“First, a doctor contacts a patient and informs him or her of the test results. Then, a request for further tests are made using the patient’s database. Following this, the nursing staff coordinate with the four Centres that are allocated as COVID-19 quarantine facilities (Muaither, Rawdat Al Khail, Al Gharafah and Umm Slal) in order to carry out the required tests.
Based on that, a patient is transferred to a suitable quarantine facility,” she explained. To cover the global shortage of nurses and to meet the needs of health sectors worldwide after the COVID-19 outbreak, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said there was an urgent need for an estimated 5.9 million nurses to help cope with the pandemic.
Like all other countries, Qatar faced a shortage of medical staff, particularly nurses. Many were unable to return to work at the end of their annual leave due to the temporary suspension of flights. Besides, PHCC’s Health Centres experienced a shortage of nurses when 30 percent of its nursing staff were allocated to MoPH for the COVID-19 crisis plan.
“The PHCC was able to acquire skilled nurses on a temporary to meet the shortage,” said Abdullah.
