Health professionals at the Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra (CHUC) recorded a low incidence rate of those infected with the new coronavirus, with nurses being the most affected, the hospital center administration said today.
In a statement sent to the Lusa agency, CHUC states that “both nurses (the most exposed group), as well as the other professionals, became infected almost exclusively in the months of March and April, when the prevention policy was not yet properly established and after due to unexpected situations, and the infections did not occur in the services dedicated to covid-19 ”.
As of June 21, the hospital center had registered 112 nurses, 44 operational assistants and 31 infected doctors.
“It should also be noted that for the management of absenteeism, related to cases of covid-19 and the closure of schools, it was necessary to mobilize 310 nurses and 154 operational assistants”, the note adds.
Between March 15 and June 1, CHUC admitted 58 new nurses and 54 operational assistants to the service.
According to the hospital structure, one of the objectives of the study is also to know the experiences of professionals who have been working in services dedicated to covid-19 or who were themselves infected.
From the analysis carried out to date, with 20 interviewees, the responsible team identified five major themes: organizational level, leadership, teamwork, the experiences in the provision of care and the personal experiences.
“The repercussions were, they are still noticed today, namely by situations of depression or influence in marital relations. But, despite all these difficulties, the professionals expressed confidence and optimism for the future and a high sense of professional ethics ”, concludes the statement.
In the study initiated by the Nursing Research Nucleus of CHUC, under the coordination of the nurse António Marques, the services of Psychiatry, Psychology, Occupational Health and the Health Sciences / Nursing Research Unit of the Coimbra Higher Nursing School collaborate.
–
