02 Mar «Stomatherapy nurses have multiplied themselves to ensure care for people with ostomy»
Published on March 1, 2021 – 15:31
On February 19th and 20th, the Portuguese Association of Stomatherapy Care Nurses – APECE held the National Congress of Stomatherapy 2021, in digital format. According to the president of APECE, Isabel Morais, “we never gave up on this moment of sharing and training, despite the constraints of the pandemic”.
For 16 years at the helm of APECE and after having participated in its foundation, nurse Isabel Morais ends her term with the first online congress. “It was a huge challenge because of all the uncertainty that is experienced today, but we could not help being close to those dedicated to people with ostomy”, explains, to Just News, the nurse who also coordinates the Stomatherapy Office of IPO Coimbra.
Among the themes addressed, which had as their main theme “Innovations and Challenges in Stomatherapy”, there was inevitably the role of new health information and communication technologies, which gained special relevance in the last year because of the pandemic. Teleconsultation has become common practice and it is necessary to reflect on the best communication strategies.
In the case of Isabel Morais’ experience, at IPO Coimbra these tools were “essential” to meet the needs of patients, at a time when they were afraid to go to the hospital. “This reality is common to so many others who in this and other areas of health have had to reinvent themselves and use technologies to approach their patients and continue to respond to their needs.”
Continuing: “The difficulty in obtaining revenue for the devices was one of the first difficulties felt. In the first wave, at an early stage, there was difficulty in accessing primary health care and the queues that were felt in pharmacies, for fear of scarcity, did not help; fortunately they have been normalized. ”
It was at that time that the use of video calls was privileged and the possibility for patients and family members / caregivers to send photographs with the changes they identified. “The fact that hospitals were able to maintain their care response and the way health professionals were able to adapt to the demands of continuing to provide health care in times of pandemic contributed to reinforce the idea that they were safe spaces.”
But, he admits, it was not easy for stomatherapy nurses at national level, since many consultations had to close, as the space was occupied by a covid area, and the professionals themselves, namely nurses, had to dedicate themselves more to the covid patients. In spite of everything, Isabel Morais guarantees that “the stomatherapy nurses did not lower their arms and multiply themselves so that the person with an ostomy would continue to have, in the health care structures, an answer to their needs”.
In this way, APECE assumed that in a year, completely atypical, the holding of the National Congress of Stomatherapy still made more sense, to reinforce the bonds that unite this community and to demonstrate that they remain “Together for Stomatherapy”.
Além da temática mais ligada ao novo coronavírus, o Congresso contou ainda com palestrantes nacionais e estrangeiros que falaram sobre “Investigação”, “Gestão em estomas de eliminação complicados”,” Quebras cutâneas”, “Estomaterapia e Cuidados Paliativos – que relação de conforto?”, entre outros.
In addition to the theme more linked to the new coronavirus, the Congress also counted on national and foreign speakers who spoke about “Research”, “Management in complicated elimination stomas”, “Skin breaks”, “Stomatherapy and Palliative Care – what is the relationship of comfort? “, among others.