Covid patients closest to their families, despite the isolation of a hospital room. Like? Through tablets donated to hospitals. What comes from Syracuse is a small sign of hope, a gesture similar to what happened in recent months, in March and April also in other Italian hospitals. Being sick with Covid-19 unfortunately also means being alone. Without having the opportunity to speak with their family members. The days are endless, without visits from relatives or contacts. Then solidarity manifests itself with these small but significant gestures.
Tablet but also Sim cards to talk to families, the project
In recent days, in the midst of the second wave, the initiative of the provincial health authority of Syracuse. The Covid Center of the Umberto I hospital in Syracuse was equipped with two tablets including cards. Patients will thus be able to use them to receive phone calls and surf the internet to communicate with family members, even through social networks and applications such as whatsapp and sms. A project that will also be extended to the Covid departments of the other hospitals in the province. “Operation Risorgimento Digitale” is the project launched by TIM and Huawei, with the donation of tablets and the activation of SIM cards at no cost for the entire period of the emergency.
"We welcomed Tim and Huawei's project, which we sincerely thank - underlines the general manager of the ASP of Syracuse Salvatore Lucio Ficarra - and as soon as we got acquainted with the project we immediately advanced application for membership for our hospitals to support and help our hospitalized patients suffering from covid-19 to feel less distant from their family in such a difficult and delicate moment that it forces them to comply with the safety policies adopted for the emergency".
Not only Syracuse, other hospitals have also received devices for patients
A similar experience had occurred to the Reunited Hospitals Le Torrette of Ancona. The solidarity started with some nurses who had collected old tablets and smartphones, 40 devices, used thanks to a wi-fi connection provided by the company. In Liguria, then, activated a video call service in healthcare residences in recent months and at the San Martino hospital in Genoa thanks to tablets donated to the wards Covid-19. And the “Support the hospitals of Tuscany” project. A concrete gesture to alleviate the loneliness of sick people. And in April, as many as one hundred tablets intended for Covid-19 patients by the Turin ASL, after a donation of 25.000 euros from a well-known Turin company.
Sums tied up precisely to equip the sick with an instrument to communicate with loved ones and have the comfort of eye contact with family members. And so in this dramatic phase, technology comes in handy. A way to lighten the burden of great psychological suffering of patients and healthcare personnel. Thus a simple and in some respects daily gesture for many becomes a special moment. A simple video call offers moments of relief, emotion and smiles to patients suffering from Covid. A way to make the family feel close despite the forced distance and to help the sick in this difficult battle.
