Nora Sanchez
08/27/2020 - 12:47
- Clarín.com
- Cities
Critically ill coronavirus patients and their families now have the right to say goodbye. The Buenos Aires Legislature unanimously approved a law that guarantees this and endorsed the protocol prepared by the City's Ministry of Health for visits to people hospitalized with a critical condition of Covid-19 .
One of the dramas of the coronavirus is that hospitalized people are isolated, even when they get worse. Patients who reach an irreversible state die without being able to say goodbye to their family. As of this law, that will no longer occur in the City. One of your loved ones can visit you, complying with strict security measures. Also, depending on the patient's condition, you can communicate with other family and friends through teleconferences.
"Since I presented the project I have received hundreds of messages from all over the country crossed by the same pain, not being able to say goodbye," said legislator Juan Facundo del Gaiso (Let's Go Together) in his speech at the venue. And he asked that cases such as that of Solange Musse, who died alone, not be repeated without letting her father go to fire her.
As the risk of contagion is high, visits will have to follow a protocol developed by the Ministry of Health of the City. Their objective, as explained in that portfolio, is "to provide a safe procedure that guarantees support and containment for both the patient and their families." The same protocol will be applied for visits to patients with other pathologies, which, although they were already allowed, were not regulated.
To be able to see an inpatient, you must be between 18 and 60 years old; be in good general health; not having risk factors against coronavirus, and not being pregnant.
The hospital will communicate the possibility of the visit to the family members, who must select a person from their environment who meets the above requirements.
Only one person in your environment can visit the coronavirus patient. Photo: Guillermo Rodríguez Adami
At the hospital, the visitor will receive a detailed explanation of the procedures and the circumstances in which the meeting will take place. To reduce the emotional impact, you will be informed in advance of the patient's condition and the medical treatments they are receiving. You can enter with an object of special sentimental value, such as photos or religious symbols.
To avoid contagion, the visitor must respect the rules of distancing and biosecurity and use the same Personal Protective Equipment as health personnel who work in the Covid-19 sectors. In addition, you will be informed about the procedures to follow and you must sign a consent , where the potential risks of the situation and the rules to comply with will be detailed.
The time of the visit will be evaluated according to the circumstances of each case. When the patient's condition allows it, whoever performs it will have the possibility of putting him in communication with the rest of the family through digital devices.
The visitor will be able to communicate the patient with other relatives or friends through digital devices. AP Photo
On the other hand, the Ministry of Health explains that they will consult on the final disposal measures. "The care of the patient and what is important both for him and for his relatives, is taken into account to ensure respect for his will, beliefs and convictions at all times. During the process, support and containment will be provided by mental health specialists to the designated family member, "says the protocol.
For their part, health centers must have an interdisciplinary team made up of medical and non-medical professionals. They will also have to establish who will be the interlocutors who will communicate with the families and the logistics of the face-to-face accompaniment. Institutions that have palliative care, spiritual support and grief teams may summon them to offer assistance.
A week ago the Minister of Health of the City, Fernán Quirós, had explained that the project now approved by the Buenos Aires Legislature sought to "implement protocols that contemplate the operational difficulties of intensive therapy, which does not endanger family members but allows a dignified and humane dismissal ”.
Minister Fernán Quirós had explained a week ago that a protocol would be implemented "that allows a dignified and humane dismissal."
Although the law means progress, for some people who lost loved ones to the coronavirus and were unable to accompany them, it is not enough . This is the case of Mora Juárez, the daughter of Manolo Juárez , who denounced in an open letter that her father was killed by "a perverse system." The pianist had been hospitalized in June for a heart condition at the Favaloro Foundation, where he contracted Covid-19 and died a month later, on July 25.
Together with Fernanda Mariotti, who lost her mother in similar circumstances, Mora presented an alternative "humanized protocol" to Buenos Aires legislators. What they propose, among other points, is that a family member be admitted together with the patient who needs special care, to provide emotional support and assistance with their basic needs.
In their proposed protocol, they explain: "We consider it a human right to be close to our sick relatives, since the psycho-affective and spiritual dimension has a direct effect on immunity, as intense as fear, loneliness and isolation."
NS
