Brazil has 30 deaths of nursing professionals due to coronavirus, and more than 4 thousand on sick leave | Coronavirus

Another 4 thousand professionals are on sick leave, to be 552 with confirmed diagnosis and more than 3,500 under investigation. In total, there are more than 4.8 thousand reports for lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) to work, according to the Federal Nursing Council (Cofen).

The numbers draw attention to the escalation of reported cases responsible nurses or service area coordinators. On April 5, there were 230 suspected or confirmed cases. Ten days later, the number increased to 4,089, almost 18 times more.

“The data reflects the progress of the pandemic and we have been very concerned. The biggest problem today in nursing is the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE). There are reports of reuse of the N95 mask and others that are made of material Questionable. If the pandemic progresses and we don’t have PPE, the trend is to have more contaminated professionals and more licenses, “says Gilney Guerra, federal counselor.

Complaints about lack of PPE

According to Guerra, nursing professionals are at the forefront of care for patients with coronavirus. In total, there are 2,263,132 registered nursing professionals on profession boards across the country, according to Cofen.

Guerra mentions that, in times of pandemic, an ANVISA resolution is followed that determines a nursing technician for every two ICU beds and a nurse for every 10 beds. They are the ones who monitor mechanical ventilation equipment to help severe cases of the disease and administer medications.

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According to Guerra, they don’t always do the job with the necessary security. From March 13 to April 16, Cofen registered 4,806 complaints lack of personal protective equipment, prohibition of the use of existing material in the institution, requests that professionals purchase their own safety materials and also reuse disposable materials.

“There is a lot of talk that health professionals are heroes, but we must remember that the hero gets sick, he needs PPE to work and he must be respected in his limitations,” says Guerra.

Emergency recruitment

The federal nursing adviser warns that there are professionals in the risk group who are working on the front line to combat Covid-19. According to Cofen data, among professionals licensed for suspicion or confirmation of the new coronavirus, 38% are between 31 and 40 years old; 23% are between 41 and 50 years old; 7.95% are between 51 and 60 years old and 1% are over 60 years old.

“We understand that we are in a pandemic, but there must be an emergency hiring and new management of this workforce. Putting a diabetic, hypertensive or over 60 nurse to work is not correct. We have a 9% unemployment record In the area, these professionals should be called because, when a nurse becomes infected, she needs to be away for 15 days, “she warns.

The importance of nurses’ work was recalled by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson this weekend. Upon discharge from the hospital where he was hospitalized for Covid-19, Johnson mentioned the names of several nurses and emotionally thanked two, in particular, who were with him at the most critical moments of the illness.

“The reason my body got oxygen again was because they were there every second of the night at my side, looking at me, thinking about how to act and taking care of myself, doing the interventions I needed,” he said.

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