Peter and Aida’s job: going home to infected covid-19

They are called “specialized teams” and have worked in the Gothenburg municipality home service for a week.

They have all volunteered.

Everyone has a routine, after each open door, in turn, putting on booties, splashing their hands, putting on apron, visor and gloves, and, but only when they consider it necessary, also putting on mouth guards.

Many are interested of them, those who voluntarily raised their hands. Colleagues who wonder, managers and politicians who want to know. Like Wednesday, when Axel Josefson (M), chairman of the municipal council, met Aida Abraha, Peter Andersson and Marie Skoglund, area manager for home service in the Östra Göteborg district, next to the store with equipment from protection.

No one used the word heroes, but there is an unspoken saying: gratitude for the growing number of people who are now joining the “specialized team.”

– In recent days, more people have listened and want to join. We now have eight on the team. Actually, you now feel safer with everything, even the others on the regular home service team have become safer with us by organizing in this way, says Marie Skoglund.

The past few weeks have been and are extremely stressful for care in Gothenburg which is generally in a difficult situation. Marie Skoglund mentions that they had up to 25 percent sick leave and that more than 80 of about 600 users in the district have chosen to reject all or part of the home service to which they are entitled, both out of concern about the risk of Getting infected like that, in their own way, helps.

It is also precisely in this district, eastern Gothenburg, where the majority of covid-19 cases were observed: 43 cases per 10,000 inhabitants. The closest neighborhood is Örgryte-Härlanda (26 cases).

Axel Josefson, then Last year, on the return of the political leadership in Gothenburg, Peter Andersson asked how the conversation with the task force went when he said he signed up.

– I noticed that many colleagues were scared. Someone said “why aren’t you really wise?” He said.

Peter is a trained nurse with 14 years behind him in home service and now he made his third workday on the special team.

– It seemed important to me. Call it a challenge, it’s kind of exciting for me. And if I get sick, I feel like I want someone to take care of me. So far, it has worked surprisingly well. We get resources and, oddly enough, it becomes easier when we know what matters, that the team continues on everyone we visit.

Peter Andersson says that he himself has not tested himself, and here it shows that the system is not yet in the running. For example, routine is not that home care staff can “order” tests for their users, it is a matter of the health system.

– But now more tests are underway from the health center, I know, says Marie Skoglund.

For his part The search for protective equipment has been the focus. About the viewfinder, he says his company has received it from the store, for example Volvo quickly ordered the production and delivered it to him.

– What we need the most are gloves. But now the city has just received a bigger delivery, and it feels good. Last week we were missing garbage bags to throw away the used covers, then we bought ourselves in Hemköp.

The debate on oral protection or not is also ongoing in Gothenburg politics. Recently, the municipality had to return an order for 50,000 copies that did not have the correct protection class.

Axel Josefson asked about how they see the situation.

– We have always had exactly the way we have managed, but now we have received large deliveries so that we can lower our shoulders. Before the Valborg weekend, I featured 74 mouthpieces here, meant to be enough for our greedy team. Then we got to distribute carefully, said Marie Skoglund.

But mouth guards are not taken without further ado, says Peter Andersson.

– Only once did I have to wear a mouth guard with a visor, he says.

The biggest concern seems he is the heat, the sweat that comes with the visor.

– No less important, we have to turn people into their beds. Then we get there and have visors before we have been able to meet them. There will certainly be a barrier between them, where you will not come from.

Axel Josefson says the visit to the specialist team raises questions about the tests.

– User sampling is a problem that we must address so that we can prioritize resources correctly, he says.

– But I also want to thank on behalf of the entire municipal council for the efforts these people make.

After the conversation with politician Peter Andersson would agree with Aida Abraha, a nurse who also has many years in the profession behind her.

– The first week was completely new, but now it has calmed down. For me, working in this group is safer. We have good things, we are educated and we know that all the people we go to have symptoms, says Aida.

The answer to the question of why only her soon

– This is a problem of society, so I just wanted to join. Who else to do it?

Unlike Peter, Aida has her own children, and as we follow them to the next user’s door, we ask her what the family thought would deal with a sick covid-19 all day.

– First I told the manager that I wanted to join. So I told the daughter that she was very concerned. Suddenly, the whole family was connected to a video and would vote on the matter.

–… but I said it doesn’t matter, I will work on Monday.