DAY 19: Things are looking up

Dear Colleagues, 

On Thursday we saw the number of patients admitted to our hospitals go down for the second consecutive day.   We now have 20 fewer patients than yesterday, bringing us to a total of 401. The daily rate of new admissions is also going down: 10 in Madrid, 12 in Barcelona and 5 in Valencia. Our figures are in line with the picture being reported across the whole of Madrid, which reflects an overall reduction in the number of cases thanks to the confinement measures. 

The Madrid regional authorities have now begun delivering medical supplies and yesterday we received 3,000 FFP2 masks, which might not be enough but certainly are of great help.  Let’s hope these deliveries become more frequent over the next few days. We also received some boxes of Propofol, a drug that Pfizer has donated to Madrid.  

The next few days will continue to be challenging but we now have more resources with which to face the situation. Responding to the coronavirus crisis is proving to be a constant learning curve in many ways; the first being in the management of pandemics.  A globalised world increases the probability that we will be exposed to health phenomena of this nature in the future and we must acknowledge that, this time, nobody was prepared for such a rapid spread of the virus and on this scale.  

For this reason, it is crucial to record all we have learnt so that we will have an overview of everything that happened over this period, to analyse it, to see what we did well and less well and convert those learnings into developing strategic capabilities for the future. We have already begun this process and we are sharing our learnings with our colleagues in Chile, Poland, Brazil, Turkey, Mexico and Miami. We are proud if we are in some way able to contribute to the health systems in other countries 

Looking ahead, we are already beginning to think about what the world will look like post Covid19. There is no doubt, in anyone’s mind, that things will be different.    Not only will the way healthcare is delivered change, as I mentioned a few days ago, but the way in which we operate as an organisation too: our presence in the office, working from home (WFH), meetings, trips and everything else. All these changes will lead to something that the British call the “new normal” which we are already beginning to experience.   I will elaborate more on this topic in future posts.  

A million thanks to you all. The fact that we are in such good shape to fight this virus is only possible thanks to this team. You have risen to this challenge in an incredible way: those of you who are in the front line, those who support our front line, and those of you in the reserve ready to come forward when needed.  The whole team is like a well-oiled machine.  Your efforts continue to be vital as we continue on what remains a difficult road ahead.  I am counting on you! Thanks for being there!  

#Proud #ApplauseforourHealthcareProfessionals 

#ApplauseForourITTeams #TogetherWeWillBeatCovid19