The essential role of nurses during COVID-19

We recently caught up with Galina Kroucheva, the co-founder of the LILAQ Health App (a CN&CO client), which is a recently launched revolutionary healthcare service – connecting trusted healthcare to your home.

Galina’s passion for the sector shines through as she shares her gratitude to the nurses and healthcare workers around the globe, fighting on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.

International Year of the Nurse

I’m sure we can all attest to the fact that the global COVID-19 pandemic has rendered 2020 quite the notable year thus far. On 12^th May we celebrated International Nurses’ Day in commemoration of Florence Nightingale’s birthday, the British social reformer, statistician, and founder of modern nursing. In addition, the year 2020 has been globally termed International Year of the Nurse to mark the bicentenary of Nightingale’s birth.

This symbolises a year-long effort to acknowledge the selfless and dedicated work of nurses and midwives, emphasising the challenging conditions they face on a daily basis, and advocating for increased investments in the nursing and midwifery workforce.

Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, Nightingale’s work has never been more pertinent as she is not only considered a pioneer for introducing the sanitary design of hospitals, but the inception of sanitation in working-class homes.

Today, health leaders continue to use her concept of evidence-based healthcare, currently being implemented by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to track and trace Covid-19 patients.

Over 150 years later, it has become one of the most powerful tools in the fight against the coronavirus. 

The Professionalisation of Nurses

Nightingale’s legacy also brought to the nursing profession, an esteemed level of professionalisation and respect. In addition, she set an example of compassion and commitment to patient care.

In light of Nightingale’s efforts, contemporary nurses are educated to understand the complex nature of maintaining health and wellness, and the impact of psychosocial and socio-economic factors such as poverty, unemployment, and ethnicity.

Qualified nurses are trained to identify the context for well-being and address problems beyond the immediate presenting symptoms.

Risks Confronted by Health Workers

Nurses and health workers are the unsung heroes of this Covid-19 war, unselfishly compromising their own physical and mental health to serve the betterment of others. They face perilous risks amongst which include:

• The danger of getting infected and even infecting their families
• The trauma from treating extremely sick patients and losing them
• The many unknowns of the pandemic, from dealing with new drugs to being deployed in ICUs with full protection gear (PPE)
• Not having the necessary PPE
• Extreme fatigue due to long working hours and when hospitals and ICUs are overwhelmed with severe COVID-19 cases

In light of the above, it’s important we take this opportunity to appreciate and celebrate the world’s nurses and health workers championing the frontlines of the Covid-19 battle.

By providing superior quality treatment and care, leading community dialogue to address fears and questions and, in some instances, collecting data for clinical studies, they certainly go beyond their call of duty. Without these warriors on our side, we would have no response to this baneful illness. 

Bringing convenience and peace through technology

Reminiscent of Nightingale’s exceptional contributions to the healthcare sector, technology and access to information continue to significantly impact the medical profession.

To this end, Lilaq is an innovative tech company committed to finding simple solutions to trying problems. The Lilaq Health App (available now on both the Google Play and Apple app stores) brings convenience and peace of mind to busy working parents, professionals and their employers. 

The platform enables users to:      

• Acquire answers to health-related questions from qualified health care professionals
• Book a home or office visit  
• Describe symptoms prior to the consultation 
• Select from an array of qualified health care professionals

The Lilaq Health App invites into our homes the promise of telemedicine, enabled by the proficient use of monitoring digital devices, combined with the irreplaceable element of human touch and kindness.

Galina shares,

“I imagine a future where nurses passionately and adeptly service the community as they have been trained to do and where working parents benefit from the technology provided to acquire access to the expertise and genuine compassion that nurses are able to deliver to their loved ones, when they need it, in the comfort of their homes.”

Learn more about the Lilaq Health App now.