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A COVID-19 screening centre at the Ghantoot Rapid testing facility on the Dubai-Abu Dhabi border. Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News

Abu Dhabi: A newly-launched programme will enable hospitals and caregivers to provide more accurate live monitoring of COVID-19 patients.

Introduced by the youth empowerment agency the Emirates Foundation, the Live Care programme will target COVID-19 patients in home quarantine, as well as those living in other non-health care facilities.

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The live monitoring is expected to help hospitals to efficiently manage cases, thus reducing the burden on caregivers and freeing up beds in hospitals. Caregivers will also be able to minimise physical interactions with COVID-19 patients.

Another initiative, dubbed Caregiver Safety, will also provide bio hoods to caregivers who work directly with COVID-19 patients. The aim is to drastically reduce and even eliminate cases of infection among medical professionals.

The programmes, which will be managed in partnership with non-profit health care consultancy, Tathafur, will be introduced first at the Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Abu Dhabi’s premier public hospital.

Future impact

“[We aim to] achieve a breakthrough in remote patient monitoring that will impact the future of medical care in the UAE. We aim to bring decades of medical learning and growing expertise to help hospitals create a model of care for remote patients that enables them to survive and thrive throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, while maintaining the safety of our front line caregivers during these challenging times,” said Mohanna Al Mheiri, chief of staff Emirates Foundation, speaking on the initiatives.

In order to ensure the successful execution of both programmes, the Emirates Foundation will also collaborate with the Abu Dhabi Department of Health, the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company, New York University Abu Dhabi and the National Health Insurance Company.