Globally some key aspects of health need to be invested in to help build a better health system. The reason is that some pandemics might strike and affect the entire world. The covid-19 pandemic was one of the worst pandemics that taught most people what is at stake due to the losses most people incurred.
Improving acute primary care prepares you for such pandemics by reducing the spread and deaths caused by diseases. When a global or regional pandemic strikes, acute primary care Goodyear AZ, prepares you by educating you on protecting yourself from such disease. Here are areas of improvement that can help you prepare for future pandemics.
Recruit, train, and prioritize healthcare workers
Healthcare workers build a strong healthcare system. For instance, throughout the covid-19 pandemic, all frontline workers were healthcare providers. They included nurses, doctors, and community health workers who sacrificed their time to help fight the pandemic.
The effect of healthcare providers has been immense irrespective of whether they care for the ill, test for the disease, or ensure vaccines reach the vulnerable population. When trying to protect against future pandemics, all healthcare workers should be prioritized as they used to before. They should be provided with the required training and vaccines to ensure they remain wotpost protected.
Establish effective response systems and surveillance
During the Covid-19 pandemic, different cases emerged in various parts of the world at different times. More transmissible and new variants emerged, making it difficult for care providers to develop a drug to treat covid-19. The viruses were also spreading quickly, making it difficult to identify the specific transmission mode.
Researchers identified the mode of transmission by developing effective testing and reporting mechanisms. Reporting instantly about any changes allows care providers to take certain measures to reduce the transmission rate. Such surveillance is effective when done at a community level.
Include vaccines in routine immunizations
Vaccines should be accessible to protect communities from serious infectious diseases such as covid-19, influenza, or flu. Different vaccines should be available in various facilities during routine checkups. Each person can easily access them whenever they are due.
It can be achieved by strengthening and expanding routine primary care services and immunizations to protect children and adults. You can always inquire if the due vaccines are available to avoid visiting a facility with no vaccines. All healthcare bodies should ensure all vaccines are available in health facilities to help prevent pandemics.
Build confidence in health services
Building confidence in health institutions, healthcare workers, and national health agencies is essential. Doing so makes people trust them, especially when giving vaccines to help people thrive and remain healthy. Confidence is built by ensuring services offered are guided by evidence-based sources that focus on preventing future pandemics.
You can also develop trust by educating the public about various acute primary care services at their disposal. Ensure you also inform them where the public can get the vaccines and when they are given. It is key in rural communities where these services are offered in temporary clinics.
Strengthening logistics and supply
During the covid pandemic, it was challenging to deliver and administer covid-19 vaccines. The reason is that vaccinations may require other things apart from vaccine doses. Additional supplies needed include masks and gloves.
Protective gear is also needed to protect healthcare workers from contracting the disease. A hospital also requires adequate syringes and cold chain storage to preserve vaccines. The hospital should purchase a fridge to ensure vaccines are stored at the right temperatures to prevent them from going bad.
Increasing investments in acute primary care are key to ensuring communities receive the vaccines to protect them from future pandemics. It helps end a pandemic and prevents the spread of future ones. It’s important to appreciate that the legacy left by Covid was not of disparity and disruption but was a moment of change.
The change required continuous commitment to strengthening acute primary care. The commitment to better acute primary care enables the community and the nation to build stronger health systems. Doing so prepares them for a pandemic or epidemic.
