While COVID-19 threw the world into a haze of fear and uncertainty, healthcare professionals were left to fight a two-front war. Doctors, the front-line brigade handling an unprecedented public health emergency, had to face sporadic incidents of violence that increased steadily over the time.
Amidst tremendous work pressure and resultant burnout, they were hardly prepared to tackle acts of aggression, obstruction or threat.
Since the situation calls for upgraded measures, NS Co-operative Hospital, Kollam, has come up with a mobile app to safeguard medical professionals on duty.
Safedoc, the app developed by the IT Department of the hospital, will send SOS messages to police, hospital authorities and IMA unit officials if an emergency occurs.
“Reports of attacks on doctors have been on the rise since the pandemic and at present we are bracing for an impending third wave. There have seen several incidents of medical staff getting assaulted and miscreants vandalising hospitals. This app can be used by doctors across the globe and it offers immediate intervention that will stop the situation from escalating,” says P.Shibu, hospital secretary.
Apart from alerting police, IMA unit and hospital authorities, Safedoc also has a provision to record live sound and send the file.
“The highlight of the app is that you can send messages to all groups with a single click and the recipients will also get the latitude and longitude of your exact location. It will be a faster and more efficient method compared to making calls,” says V.S. Akhil from the IT department of the hospital.
The app can be used in places without internet connectivity as it requires mobile network coverage only and the message will be sent as an sms. The SOS message will show the name and details of the doctor and the app also has a provision to feed the numbers of family or friends in another category.
Many of the medical facilities, especially those functioning in remote areas with very few security personnel, are ill-equipped to handle such situations. In some incidents doctors had to wait too long for the help to arrive or rush to nearby police station to lodge a complaint.
“This will be specifically useful to them as the app alerts the nearest and ensures help at the earliest. Though the app has been developed for doctors, it can be later customised for all healthcare workers. Safedoc will be available on the playstore from next week,” adds Mr.Akhil.
