Facing the crisis as a team

betsy moraga Nurse Clinical Service

SANTIAGO — CHILE

One thing we have really done well is teamwork. If it wasn’t for the commitment and effort from all the nurses, technicians, paramedics and the management team, we could never have risen to the challenge.

The pandemic has been a difficult situation for us. Everything is different in peoples’ homes. A nurse goes to a patient at home and they are often chronically ill and surrounded by their family. Our service has to go into a home where there are no hospital facilities and we have to give them medical care in that context. If there are any problems, you have to use your initiative, because you don’t have a doctor beside you who you can ask what to do.

Our service is different from others. We care for people in their homes. We have all types of patients – some are very sick, others less so. We have built a national network, though the biggest area is in Santiago. We go to Antofagasta, La Serena, Viña del Mar, Puerto Montt, Concepción and Temuco, all with the same working model.

One of the most difficult things has been having resources to meet the demand. We received around 8 to 10 patients per day to free up hospital beds and to care for them in their homes.

I know that the commitment of the team has kept us going and helped us work well and be cheerful and enthusiastic. We have formed a really good loyal network and and we are stronger because of it. �