What is your picture of the follow-up and reintegration into work of Covid-19 patients?
The return to work of patients previously infected with COVID-19 must undergo a prior assessment, which will correspond to the various clinical situations and the varying degrees of severity of the disease that has affected them.
More and more people are talking about the medium- and long-term consequences.
A stay in intensive care can have consequences for the respiratory system, essentially, but not only.
It is known that there is a very serious inflammatory cascade that can compromise several organs.
There is therefore a need to rigorously assess each individual’s return to work and consider some adjustments to be made to their post, taking into account their clinical situation.
It’s also very important to follow up these workers regularly and keep a record of their overall clinical progress.
Collecting this information can be essential for sharing it later on in order to gain a better understanding of the disease.
The pandemic has unintentionally slowed down the treatment, screening and diagnosis of other diseases.
What can be done to continue the informative dialog and early screening that is so important in many pathologies?
As we know, all services and resources have been reorganized to respond to the pandemic.
Technical and human resources have become exhausted and close to breaking point…
In our context, at company level, with the intervention of our multidisciplinary teams, we are trying to provide the best possible support by continuing with periodic examinations, but also by prescribing complementary tests whenever necessary and checking analytical results…
And also with the continuation of awareness campaigns.
When we talk about the patient, we also talk about the role of the caregiver and health professionals.
Tell us a bit about the behind-the-scenes process at SEPRI?
SEPRI has always been present since the beginning of the pandemic and, in order to do so, it has had to do a lot of backoffice work in terms of its internal structure, which has grown and improved processes to be able to sustain the presence of the teams on the ground.
SEPRI plays a significant role in implementing testing in the Braga council, in the workplace and beyond, and this process requires “invisible” work in terms of daily records, communicating the results to the public health authorities, to ARS Norte…
And since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve also tried to disseminate and reinforce all the protective measures relating to the disease issued by official bodies.
World Sick Day also deserves to talk about psychological illness, which is still often taboo.
How has the pandemic alerted us to the importance of mental health on a par with physical health?
Assessing psychological health in the context of the pandemic seems absolutely essential to me.
Numerous studies clearly indicate that the impact of Covid-19 in terms of mental health will be enormous.
We felt the need from the outset to work on issues of psycho-emotional well-being with workers and their families.
Lockdowns, teleworking and changes in family routines have brought new problems and challenges which we have tried to address with our team of psychologists who liaise, where necessary, with the Portuguese Psychologists’ Association.
One of SEPRI’s values is Innovation.
How can innovation and technology be of service to patients with Covid-19 and beyond?
New diagnostic approaches have emerged in particular.
The tests used so far are the RT-PCR test and the rapid antigen test, both of which use swabs.
These are still the tests that are recognized and regulated by the official authorities.
Some innovative tests have emerged, particularly with regard to testing using a sample of the patient’s saliva.
This could possibly be an easier and more comfortable process…
SEPRI is carrying out a comparative study between these new tests and the nasal swab antigen test, in order to assess their reliability and clinical safety.
We are still in the process of analyzing these results and are also awaiting guidance from the public health authorities in order to make a decision on their implementation.
In addition to testing, technology is at the service of the patient through video consultations.
SEPRI provides video consultations in various specialties, including psychology and nutrition, and this is a method that allows patients to be monitored even from a physical distance, and it’s here to stay.
Interview with Dr. Francisco Lopes, Clinical Director of SEPRI – Medicina no Trabalho.
Published in Correio do Minho, special edition of World Patients’ Day 2021.
