Tele-medicine and tent clinics help doctors do their jobs
Doctors across the Cayman Islands are changing the way they do business in an effort to keep themselves and their patients safe.
Doctors across the Cayman Islands are changing the way they do business in an effort to keep themselves and their patients safe.
Some have closed their doors for anything except emergency situations.
Others are consulting with patients over WhatsApp or Skype.
Several practices have set up tents outside their offices to segregate patients with respiratory symptoms from those with everyday ailments.
At Pasadora Place on Friday, 20 March, the glass-panelled doors of various medical centres were plastered with printed notices advising visitors of the new protocols.
Dr. Joseph Marzouca said he aimed to keep his practice open as long as possible. He is asking patients with coughs, colds or breathing difficulties to report to a tented consultation room outside the office.
If they have travelled overseas or have symptoms consistent with COVID-19, he refers them to the Health Services Authority. Other patients are seen inside the clinic by doctors in protective wear.
Marzouca said staff had been working non-stop over the past few weeks and the practice may need to reduce hours.
‘Doctors are human, too’
Marzouca said he understood why some clinics were closing their doors.
“Doctors are human, too, and if they feel it is a difficult situation, they may want to close up,” he said.
“It might well be a good thing that a few doctors stay home. If we all go out there at once and everybody gets sick, that could be a bigger problem,” he added.
At Cayman Clinic on Crewe Road, patients are being directed to call a triage number.
The phones are manned by Dr. Heidi Fahy, who is in isolation herself, at home, after returning from a trip to the UK on Sunday, 15 March.
She screens the calls and decides which can be dealt with over the phone, via WhatsApp, and which require an in-clinic appointment with a doctor.
“We are discouraging routine appointments and trying to manage as much as we can on the phone,” she said.
Some have closed their doors for anything except emergency situations.
Others are consulting with patients over WhatsApp or Skype.
Several practices have set up tents outside their offices to segregate patients with respiratory symptoms from those with everyday ailments.
At Pasadora Place on Friday, 20 March, the glass-panelled doors of various medical centres were plastered with printed notices advising visitors of the new protocols.
Dr. Joseph Marzouca said he aimed to keep his practice open as long as possible. He is asking patients with coughs, colds or breathing difficulties to report to a tented consultation room outside the office.
If they have travelled overseas or have symptoms consistent with COVID-19, he refers them to the Health Services Authority. Other patients are seen inside the clinic by doctors in protective wear.
Marzouca said staff had been working non-stop over the past few weeks and the practice may need to reduce hours.
‘Doctors are human, too’
Marzouca said he understood why some clinics were closing their doors.
“Doctors are human, too, and if they feel it is a difficult situation, they may want to close up,” he said.
“It might well be a good thing that a few doctors stay home. If we all go out there at once and everybody gets sick, that could be a bigger problem,” he added.
At Cayman Clinic on Crewe Road, patients are being directed to call a triage number.
The phones are manned by Dr. Heidi Fahy, who is in isolation herself, at home, after returning from a trip to the UK on Sunday, 15 March.
She screens the calls and decides which can be dealt with over the phone, via WhatsApp, and which require an in-clinic appointment with a doctor.
“We are discouraging routine appointments and trying to manage as much as we can on the phone,” she said.
