Demand for the EU recognized isolation pod EpiShuttle has increased by almost 18 times during the last two weeks. Now the Norwegian company EpiGuard scales up production to meet global surge in demand for safe patient transport.
The world is experiencing major challenges providing medical equipment and safe transportation for patients infected with coronavirus (COVID-19).
– Current demand witnesses a world in crisis. In this crisis, our mission is to save the patient while protecting everyone else. With the numbers of confirmed cases increasing, the need for safe and efficient transport of patients is rising, Ellen Cathrine Andersen says, CEO, EpiGuard.
Transport under pressure
WHO now counts 334,900 confirmed cases. The pandemic puts healthcare systems all over the world under major pressure. Without single-patient isolation, health care workers and other patients are at increased risk of catching the virus. The EpiShuttle was singled out by the EU as one of the key technological advancements to improve patient safety during pandemics like the outbreak of the coronavirus.
– Safe transport of infected patients is essential to maximize our healthcare systems’ capacity. The EpiShuttle opens up for patient transport by ambulance helicopter. Until now, this has been challenging given the risk of contamination to crews. Single-patient isolation pods also allow patients to receive necessary treatment during transport, while reducing the need for disinfection of ambulances, helicopters and planes between every patient. It takes two-four hours to disinfect an ambulance.
During this time, the ambulance is not able to perform other critical duties, Andersen explains.
Experience from training shows that health care workers are at greater risk of making mistakes when working with full protective gear. Single patient isolation units such as the EpiShuttle allow health care workers to perform necessary treatment of the patients and allow them to wear a minimum of protective gear. This improves the efficiency of caretakers, especially during longer transports between countries and hospitals.
– The public and healthcare professionals’ safety must be top priority at every stage of a transport. In a healthcare system strained beyond its capacity, the EpiShuttle keeps the patient absolutely isolated, providing safer transport, for patients, medical professionals and the surroundings, Andersen says.
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