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With so much concern over Covid-19 and looking for symptoms of the virus, there is a risk that families may ignore their general physical, mental and emotional health, medics fear.
The American Mission Hospital (AMH) has launched a number of offers to help patients continue to monitor and improve their overall well-being in the face of the economic impact of the pandemic.
“We realise that a lot of our patients and customers are under a lot of stress and financial pressure, so we thought of putting together packages for most of our different specialties,” explained Todd Sprinkel, clinical services director at the AMH.
“We have noticed that since many children are attending school virtually, there is no nurse or medical professional who monitors their health regularly.
“Also noticeable is that a lot of adults are focused on the Covid-19 crisis and may not be paying as much attention to other aspects of their health as they should. People often defer seeing their physician until it becomes a significant issue, instead of going in for a check-up six months or a year prior.
“To overcome these challenges and remind our patients of the importance of regular check-ups, we came up with this campaign.”
The hospital has also seen an increased anxiety around hospital visits due to a fear of contracting the virus, and has come up with sanitisation procedures going above and beyond its regular protocols.
Every area has an infection control officer. In particular, the dental, surgical and the natal departments have amplified their sanitisation and testing procedures, due to the higher risk of Covid-19 transmission.
“Our staff is tested for Covid-19 regularly and quarantined as soon as any potential symptoms appear,” Todd added.
“Forty per cent of AMH’s employees have been vaccinated and the vast majority have booked appointments to get inoculated in the coming weeks.
“We also require that anyone going into surgery, as well as pregnant women, get a Covid test before their procedure. Due to our onsite testing, we have the capacity to get results back within an hour or two, and this way we can ensure a seamless, convenient and of course, safe experience.”
The hospital has three natal packages to help expecting mothers in the antenatal and delivery stages, with additional support available from a midwife.
Doctors and medical staff have also observed a number of health issues emerge as a result of the lifestyle change that the last year has brought with it.
As a response, the hospital has developed the Immunity Profile package for BD60, which provides a holistic snapshot of an individual’s health and the Paediatric School Health Package for BD15 to assess the health of growing children. In addition, there is a dietary package, with regular appointments for up to six months, which helps patients make healthier nutritional choices
Todd added: “We have seen a lot of people become more sedentary as Covid-19 restrictions have reduced the amount of physical activity we get. A lot of people have also fear and anxiety about Covid and this stress also has a detrimental effect on mental and physical health.
“In fact, our mental health department has seen a significant increase in the number of appointments during the crisis.
“Even once the Covid-19 crisis ends, we are going to be feeling the effects for the next five to 10 years, with the rise in obesity, particularly childhood obesity and alcoholism.
“So we recommend that individuals and families take the time now to monitor their health and identify concerns before they become major problems.”
For more details on the offers, scan the QR code on the next page and follow @american_mission_hospital on Instagram.
