SafeCare4Covid App, a free mobile app for healthcare providers that offers practical support in handling the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been introduced.

COVID-19 is far from over. Healthcare providers everywhere are the most at risk.
In Ghana the infection rate among healthcare providers continue to rise.
The nation has sadly, lost some healthcare professionals to the pandemic, as they take care of other citizens.
It is against this background that SafeCare has introduced an efficient globally accessible mobile app that evaluates and helps to improve the healthcare providers’ capacity to manage Covid-19 patients effectively and safely.

The Country Manager for SafeCare - PharmAccess in Ghana, Bonifacia Benefo Agyei, described the App service as a remarkable digital intervention in the global effort at improving safety of frontline health workers who are critical in the fight against the pandemic.
According to her, though Covid-19 continues to be elusive and is posing a fierce opposition, the still developing healthcare system, availability of reliable, consistent and updated information on and for the management of the diseases to healthcare providers is crucial to saving the lives of millions of Ghanaians.

“This is a game changer in the stream of innovative interventions tailored to improve the quality and safety of Covid-19 related healthcare services among providers in Ghana and globally,” she said.
Banking on 20 years of experience in the healthcare quality field, specifically in resource-restricted areas, and a wide experience with digital innovations, SafeCare has developed the ‘SafeCare4Covid app’ using data, documentation and guidelines developed by the WHO, to prepare and support healthcare providers for COVID-19 worldwide.

SafeCare4Covid: HOW THE APP WORKS
Bonifacia Benefo Agyei, explained that the SafeCare4Covid platform is designed to enable facility staff to conduct a self-assessment using their own mobile devices any time of the day.
This process will enable them rate their own performance regarding how efficiently they have complied with the Covid-19 safety protocols in the facility.

This is real time quick and effective way of determining existing gaps in the health facilities’ preparedness towards Covid-19 management, she emphasized.
She said with this SafeCare4Covid App, “Providers [facility leaders and Managers] can evaluate the availability of equipment, supplies and staff, as well as assess their processes and knowledge to handle COVID-19 while staying safe.”

To access the app, visit covid.safe-care.org and within 30 minutes it will uncover details that your facility might have missed in preparing and maintaining a safe environment in the prevention of the spread of this global pandemic. The app is free and globally accessible.

The SafeCare Country Manager further revealed that, the SafeCare4Covid App is programmed such that, identified of gaps in important areas such supplies like PPE [personal protective equipment] and oxygen or processes like triage, cleaning and isolation will feed in to a customized quality improvement plan which the facility may use to improve its system.

She expressed excitement that the app is free and designed for healthcare facilities, big or small, public or private.
This is because SafeCare believes that, no matter where in the world they are, healthcare facilities are currently facing similar challenges – preparing and maintaining an environment that reduces risk of infection - whilst continuing to provide health services for their community.

According to her, the app also contains a list of 10 COVID-19 facts ‘’did you know’’ questions to combat misinformation. In addition, it has links to webinars and access to downloadable resources including protocols and posters on Covid-19 prevention and management.

PHARMACCESS AND SAFECARE
PharmAccess ( www.pharmaccess.org ) is an international organization, supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign affairs and has offices in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and the Netherlands. PharmAccess strives to improve quality of and facilitate access to healthcare in sub-Saharan Africa.
Within PharmAccess, SafeCare is a unique standards-based and ISQua accredited incremental approach for measuring and improving the quality of healthcare services in resource restricted settings. To date, almost 6000 SafeCare quality assessments have been performed in sub-Saharan Africa. SafeCare4Covid has been developed with the support of partners including MSDforMothers and Achmea Foundation.