Emergencies as Catalysts to Invest in the Health Workforce

Abstract

Introduction:Emergencies provide opportunities for deep systemic intra-action and after-action reviews, followed by changes and adaptations that are aimed at enhancing resilience against future health emergencies. One of the most prevalent lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic is the need to intensify the investment in the health workforce. Diverse groups of health workers have brought their expertise from the benches to patients’ beds, and the desks of the decision-makers.Method:Match skill mix of health staff with the needed level of care: those with mild diseases can be cared for by basic nursing staff. Critical patients require advanced skilled nursing that is familiarized with advanced technologies such as ECMO, and use “out-of-the-box” thinking.Developing the capabilities of the communities and civil society organizations to respond to emergencies. Cooperation agreements with partners that are not involved in medical care during “regular days” should be set before emergencies strike.Formulate civil-military-police cooperation as well as the Good Samaritan Law is an important legal instrument to allow for humanitarian aid from within and outside the country.Results:Matching the skill mix of the health staff with the needed level of care for basic nursing for minor patients as well as advanced nursing for critical patients, while using “out of the box “ thinking to develop a high level of knowledge is important to maintain quality care during emergencies.Conclusion:The COVID-19 pandemic and other emergencies provide us with the opportunity to switch from bouncing back to bouncing forward, and from just coping to anticipating and transforming. Investing in the health workforce would enhance preparedness and readiness so that emergencies will not turn into disasters and crises. The presentation will highlight some of the new approaches and methods applied during the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as those applied in countries that are faced with wars and military conflicts.