COVID-19: Nurses use app to reach patients

Apr 07, 2020

“People fear to go health facilities and many are self-medicating out of panic because of the coronavirus pandemic. Some don’t even have transport,” he explains.

COVID-19

KAMPALA - The Uganda Nurses and Midwives Union has rolled out a smartphone-based application to link patients to the nearest healthcare providers.

The app allows patients to find a nurse and other health professionals within their locality for quick management of ailments and simple medical procedures.

Justus Cherop Kiplangat, the president of the nurses' union, says the mobile application will reduce the need for people to flock to hospitals if some of the conditions can be managed at home.

"People fear to go health facilities and many are self-medicating out of panic because of the coronavirus pandemic. Some don't even have transport," he explains.

With the app, nurses can reach patients and treat them in the community and limit the spread of the virus, Annet Birungi, an official from the nurses' union says.

The union is encouraging all the nurses to join the platform so that they are reachable by people who are in need. The app can be downloaded on www.zoctu.com.

Last week, the health ministry said it was looking to tap into digital innovations to aid case management and the tracking of suspected cases.

About 64,000 nurses are registered with the nurses' union. About 5,000 Ugandan nurses qualify to practice every year, implying that many more nurses may be available to serve.

However, Birungi said the biggest concern for nurses, who are at the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic, was the availability of personal protective gear, including face masks and sanitizers.

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 An interface of the Zoctu app


The nurses' union also wants the frontline medics to be tested regularly for infection since they face a higher risk of catching the infection.

Globally, more than 1000,000 people, including at least 52 people in Uganda, have tested positive for COVID-19, with over 70,000 deaths.

The illness can manifest in form of sneezing, cough, flu, fever or shortness of breath, and older persons and those with pre-existing health problems have a higher risk of infection.

Transport challenge

Meanwhile, most of the nurses are struggling to get to work to attend to patients following a 14-day ban on public transport, the nurses' union has also revealed.

"Most of the nurses were using public transport before the ban and they now have to rely on friends who have cars to get to and from work. It is also not sustainable," Birungi explained.

The nurses are requesting the government to provide some form of transport facilitation for them to use digital transport services like Uber to get to work.

They also want to be allowed to train on the use of rapid diagnostic test kits for COVID-19 so that they can use them when they become available.

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