NUI Galway has set up a new donations website to link Personal Protective Equipment supplies with hospitals in need worldwide during the coronavirus pandemic.
The COVID19 pandemic has overwhelmed the resources of the world’s health systems, often leaving frontline clinical staff without the required Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as supply chains struggle to catch up with the surge.
This puts medical personnel, and other front line staff, at much greater risk of contracting the virus themselves, potentially spreading it within the health system, and removing healthcare staff when they are most needed.
The new global platform, www.covidmedsupply.org, allows local organisations, such as industry, business, universities, and laboratories, who may have PPE stock in supply to list the categories of what they have on inventory.
They list the gear they have, gloves, gowns, masks, etc, along with contact details and then drop a map pin to show their geographic location.
If a coronavirus surge occurs in their geographic area, for example Cairo, Cork, Calgary, then the local hospital or clinic can simply click on the map of their surroundings and see what emergency PPE/Medical stock is in the vicinity and access it quickly.
This innovative solution to the supply problem was created by Professor Derek O’Keefe of NUIG, who is also a Consultant Physician at UHG, and his colleague Dr Kevin Johnson at University of Limerick.
“Speaking with my clinical colleagues across the world and looking at the repeating patterns of health supply logistics breakdowns that have occurred as COVID19 surges have swept across the world, it is clear that innovative alternative solutions need to be developed,” Prof O’Keefe said.
Dr Johnson added “Everybody has a role to play in this fight against the COVID19 pandemic – that could be simply to self-isolate, use your skillset to create a website such as www.covidmedsupply.org or donate any surplus supplies you might have to this worthy cause.
“With so much technology at our fingertips, why not use it for the good of your community.”
