Three weeks ago, emergency doctors at Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg came up with an innovation to protect healthcare workers from COVID-19. The Times reports they managed to secure private sector funding for the project within two days, and have already started rolling it out in their own hospital, with plans to distribute it countrywide.
Professor Feroza Motara is quoted in the report as saying she and her team brainstormed ideas for protective equipment and came up with a concept for a device that would be called an “intubox” to limit contact with patients. This would be used in any intubation, extubation or aerolising procedures. “Our research showed us that with the use of the box we would decrease the risk of a health worker being infected,” she said.
The report says with sponsorship from Firstrand, Spire, and Paramount aeronautical engineers, the team was able to modify the device and get it off the ground.
FirstRand COO Mary Vilakazi said they were involved in the initiative because it was in line with their objective to accelerate the scaling of South Africa’s COVID-19 critical care capacity over the next few weeks, which, among other things, is focused on supporting frontline protective care.
[link url="https://select.timeslive.co.za/news/2020-04-06-sa-brains-come-up-with-a-nifty-box-to-protect-virus-frontline-staff/"]Full report in The Times[/link]