International
Fearing second COVID-19 wave, Europe aims to train ‘army’ of medics
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Europeans are enjoying the gradual easing of coronavirus lockdown measures, but in hospitals they are already preparing for the next wave of infections.
Some intensive care specialists are trying to hire more permanent staff. Others want to create a reservist “army” of medical professionals ready to be deployed wherever needed to work in wards with seriously ill patients.
European countries have been giving medics crash courses in how to deal with COVID-19 patients, and are now looking at ways to retrain staff to avoid shortages of key workers if there is a second wave of the novel coronavirus.
“We need a healthcare army,” said Maurizio Cecconi, president-elect of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM), which brings together medics from around the world who work in wards with extremely ill patients.
Cecconi, who heads the intensive care department at the Humanitas hospital in Milan, says medical staff need to be more flexible in the work they do, and more mobile.
“If there is another big wave, we should be prepared to deploy doctors and nurses from nearby regions within Italy. This did not happen a lot in the first wave,” he told Reuters.
Many countries were caught unprepared by the COVID-19 pandemic in March and April, and hastily retrained medics to work with patients with severe cases of the disease, to ramp up numbers and replace those who fell sick.
Some sent medical students and retired doctors to help out in intensive care wards as hospital staff were overwhelmed. Those worst-hit by the pandemic had to provide more beds and essential equipment for acute care units, and some built new hospitals.
But problems and shortages persist. Italy, for example, may need to boost by 50% the number of anaesthetists, resuscitation experts and other medics it has working in intensive care, according to the Italian society of intensive care SIAARTI.
Crash courses
Across Europe, hospitals have been re-training surgeons, cardiologists, internal medicine physicians and nurses from other departments, and have moved them to intensive care units when needed.
Many have attended crash courses on how to handle COVID-19 patients, said Jozef Kesecioglu, president of ESICM and head of intensive care at the University Medical Center of Utrecht, in the Netherlands.
“We gave them jobs with less responsibility, such as washing patients, turning patients around, checking the lungs or looking at scans,” he told Reuters.
Intensive care specialists had continued to do the most delicate work, such as handling tubes in patients’ throats or adjusting mechanical ventilation, Kesecioglu said.
He plans to call back the same people to offer them more training. Under normal circumstances, intensive care workers undergo years of training but he said: “We should not wait until the new wave comes, we should give them regular training.”
The Netherlands is trying to recruit more skilled workers and hopes to narrow structural gaps in the intensive care workforce, said Rotterdam’s Erasmus Medical Centre, one of the largest university hospitals in Europe.
SIAARTI says medical students who specialise in intensive care medicine should be fully integrated into wards for the last two years of their five-year training, and has recommended financial incentives be offered to attract more students.
The European Commission, the European Union’s executive, funded cross-border transfers of medical staff to the most affected countries at the height of the coronavirus crisis.
In April, teams of “flying doctors” were sent from Norway and Romania to Italy.
But the experiment has failed to gather much support, and Cecconi said moving doctors from one country to another “should be an option but not the first option,” as language barriers may make them less effective.
Some patients were also moved around to receive treatment. France transferred some to less-affected regions of the country and sent others to Germany, which also took in COVID-19 patients from Italy.
But Cecconi warned of transportation risks and logistical complications.
“Often our patients are very sick,” he said. “I’d rather have skilled people who know how to work in my environment.”
Reporting and photo: Reuters
International
Nika Zorjan’s ‘V Postelji’ music video showcases timeless beauty of Maldives
Released just three weeks ago, Nika Zorjan’s latest music video, ‘V Postelji’ (meaning “In Bed”), has captivated audiences with its stunning cinematography set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Maldives. Directed by videographer Niko Karo, who accompanied Nika to film the video, the project was organised by Moji Maldivi, an agency based in Slovenia dedicated to promoting the Maldives as a premier holiday destination in Balkan region.
The video beautifully captures Nika strolling through serene pathways shaded by iconic coconut palm trees at Villa Park, later walking along the sun-kissed beaches of Villa Nautica, and finally enjoying the golden sunset on a bed at the beach of Furaveri Maldives. Each scene showcases the natural beauty and tranquil ambiance of the Maldives, enhancing the emotional depth and visual splendour of the music video.
Nika Zorjan, renowned as a Slovenian pop star and Eurovision contestant, has also gained fame for her cover songs, including her most popular rendition of Sia’s Cheap Thrills, which has amassed nearly 50 million views on YouTube, with over 60 million total views on the platform. “Shooting a video in the Maldives is heavenly,” she added. Filmed in one of the world’s most captivating tourist destinations, the Maldives serves as more than just a scenic backdrop; it becomes an integral part of the video’s narrative.
V Postelji not only showcases Nika Zorjan’s musical prowess but also pays homage to the Maldives’ timeless allure and cultural richness. The video has resonated deeply with audiences, garnering praise for its artistic vision and the mesmerising beauty of the Maldivian landscape. The lush greenery, crystal-clear waters, and pristine beaches depicted in the video create a sense of paradise that complements the song’s evocative lyrics.
As viewers continue to immerse themselves in the captivating visuals and emotive melodies of V Postelji, it reinforces the Maldives’ reputation as a destination where natural beauty and tranquility converge effortlessly. Nika Zorjan’s collaboration with Niko Karo underscores their shared appreciation for the Maldives’ serene ambiance and its ability to inspire creativity and emotional expression. This partnership, facilitated by Moji Maldivi, highlights the agency’s dedication to showcasing the Maldives as an unparalleled holiday destination to the Balkan market.
Featured
Emirates undertakes largest known fleet retrofit project
Emirates has kick-started its plans to upgrade the entire interior cabins of 120 Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft – two of the largest commercial aircraft types in service today.
This ambitious project, representing a multi-billion dollar investment to ensure Emirates’ customers “fly better” for the coming years, officially commences in November and is managed entirely by Emirates’ Engineering team.
The target is to completely retrofit four Emirates aircraft from start to finish every month, continuously for over 2 years. Once the 67 earmarked A380s are refreshed and back in service, 53 777s will undergo their facelift. This will see nearly 4,000 brand new Premium Economy seats installed, 728 First Class suites refurbished and over 5,000 Business Class seats upgraded to a new style and design when the project is complete in April 2025.
In addition, carpets and stairs will be upgraded, and cabin interior panels refreshed with new tones and design motifs including the iconic ghaf trees which are native to the UAE.
No other airline has handled a retrofit of this magnitude in-house, and there’s no blueprint for such an undertaking. Therefore Emirates Engineering teams have been planning and testing extensively, to establish and streamline processes, and identify and address any possible snags.
Trials began on an A380 in July, where experienced engineers literally took each cabin apart piece-by-piece and logged every step. From removing seats and panelling to bolts and screws, every action was tested, timed and mapped out. Potential impediments to completing the installation of Emirates’ new Premium Economy Class or the retrofit of the remaining three cabins in just 16 days were flagged and documented for expert teams to review and address.
As part of the programme, new purpose-built workshops will be set up at Emirates Engineering to repaint, re-trim and re-upholster Business and Economy Class seats with new covers and cushioning. First Class suites will be carefully disassembled and sent to a specialised company to replace the leather, arm rests and other materials.
From the trials, Engineers discovered several unexpected solutions for instance: that existing food catering trucks could be easily repurposed to move parts destined for refurbishment from the aircraft to the workshop for their refresh, as these vehicles had doors of the right width and offer sufficient space.
Until the retrofit programme starts in earnest in November, a cross-disciplinary team has been assembled to regularly review the planning process, address any issues, and track updates on various aspects of the project such as procurement, staffing, and training.
Emirates’ new Premium Economy cabin class, which offers luxurious seats, more legroom, and a service to rival many airlines’ business offering, is currently available to Emirates customers travelling on popular A380 routes to London, Paris, Sydney. More customers will be able to experience the airline’s new Premium Economy cabins starting from year end, as the retrofit programme picks up momentum.
Featured
Eleanor helps over 30 Maldives hotels elevate guest services
Eleanor has been named as one of the top 10 concierge software providers globally.
Based on accurate, timely reviews from real users, the HotelTechAwards rank the world’s best hotel software firms and products and it also provides hoteliers direct access to a growing network of hotel technology professionals and decision-makers.
“The guest experience is the cornerstone of our platform. Our unified resort wide solution, Eleanor, has been built for resorts off the back of many years working in the industry and addresses the needs of both Sales and Marketing departments and perhaps just as importantly, the operational requirements of the team on the ground at the property. The days of resorts working with disjointed systems are now behind us,” says Darren Caple, co-founder and CEO.
“We are on a mission to make the guest’s resort experience as easy and as frictionless as possible. Whereas traditional providers in the market have come at this purely from a guest communication perspective, our background in resorts has allowed us to combine this basic requirement with the streamlining of operational processes. The result is truly a resort wide solution that removes the need for countless different systems to be deployed.
Eleanor allows resorts to deliver consistent, superior service levels to guests across all stages of their journey with contactless features helping to alleviate sensitive touch-points in the post pandemic period. More than 30 properties in the Maldives use our Eleanor platform to help butlers and guest services elevate the guest experience. These properties are seeing an increase in incremental revenue by over 30% and operational efficiencies of 600+ man hours per month. We are also beginning to roll out the platform in some Caribbean properties!”
Eleanor is making waves in the hospitality industry by pushing the conventional limits of what a resort guest app can achieve through its unique ability to facilitate direct bookings for services and activities. The traditional ‘request to book’ feature that is common amongst almost all other hotel apps is removed by a power booking and operational platform sitting at the heart of the solution that covers all the resorts’ departments. It’s this module which realises enormous operational benefits and insights for the resort.
“We, at Eleanor, are humbled and honoured that our clients have provided such positive reviews. Feedback from our clients, partners and hoteliers are incredibly valuable for us and we will continue to improve our offering and services”, said Caple.
To celebrate this success, Eleanor is currently offering resorts a free one month trial, together with free setup and training and discounted monthly fees.
Eleanor, founded in 2018 and has its headquarters in the United Kingdom. Created from over 15 years of hands-on expertise, Eleanor allows resorts to deliver consistent, superior service levels to its guests across all stages of their journey with contactless features helping to alleviate sensitive touch-points in the post pandemic period. Eleanor also helps to unlock operational efficiencies and boost incremental revenue and guest loyalty.
Hotel Tech Report’s Best Concierge Software 2022 Runner Up, reviewed as a preferred and reliable hotel software product by the global hotelier community.
For more information, visit www.eleanorapp.com.
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