Our next challenge: to adapt to normality in order to improve it and ourselves

This week the month of July begins. It is incredible to think about how fast time goes by and the number of things that have happened in just these past few months. The other day I was reminded of how we had managed this health emergency: the field hospitals we built in record time, the immense effort of the health professionals (and the entire Sanitas team!) and how well we managed working from home. However, as I expressed in my last post, it is now time to look forward and focus on what is important, to continue working towards our goal, which is to help people take better care of their health and the health of our planet. I think this is not about a ‘new normal’, but about adapting to a reality that is different and where the most important thing is to never stop learning.

Without a doubt, this summer will be different. The fear of contagion and the economic crisis that many families are going through will cause many people to stay at home. And those who decide to travel, within Spain or abroad, will have to take the necessary precautions to reduce the risk of infection. However, this year more than ever, it is necessary to rest and disconnect from the stressful situation we have experienced.  On a psychological level, this situation has left a deep – and sometimes silent - imprint. Last week we published a study on emotional well-being during confinement, which showed that 40% of Spanish people had expressed that this has been a very difficult time for them emotionally and 8% stated that they will need professional support to recover from it. Therefore, our first challenge for this new phase post-Covid is to organise more support in areas related to mental health.

This is not about a ‘new normal’, but about adapting to a reality that is different and where the most important thing is to never stop learning

Our second challenge will be to learn to live with this virus. Today, the main concern is the possibility of another outbreak. Uncertainty is going to be part of our life but there are some things we can do to be better prepared. For example, in Madrid, we are going to keep our two field hospitals, built in the grounds of Sanitas La Moraleja and La Zarzuela hospitals, until the end of the year. This increases the availability of hospital beds by 70%, to be ready in case of any future emergency. In addition, both in our dental clinics and care homes we will continue to maintain strict security protocols to minimize the risk of contagion.

This brings me to another important challenge that we will face in the coming months: caring for our elderly. Our 47 care homes are open to family visits, with security measures in place to guarantee the protection of family members, residents and employees. We want to continue improving care procedures, which is why we are working to increase the medical capacity in our homes, with digitalization sure to be a great ally.  We want our care homes to provide more medical attention but without losing sight of the social aspect of care, because our objective remains to provide the best quality of life for those in our care.

We want to continue improving care procedures, which is why we are working to increase the medical capacity in our homes, with digitalization sure to be a great ally

Another challenge we face is planning our return to the workplace.  Sanitas has already begun to implement a plan to assist all our workforce as they progressively return to work, and we have carried out serological tests for the first groups of employees who started going back into the office a few weeks ago. However, our goal is to change the way we have worked up until now.  As well as more remote working, we want to introduce other changes, such as sustainable mobility, flexible working and to convert the office into a stimulating place where we come to share ideas and learn from other colleagues.

These are examples of how we are responding to some of the challenges thrown up by this situation. Many more will follow.  We must look to the future with a huge sense of responsibility to find the best way to respond to the needs of customers, employees, and society at large. I will still be around these next few weeks, although less connected to social media. For those of you who will shortly start your holidays, try to rest these days because an exciting – and demanding - new term awaits you on your return, full of new projects. THANK YOU once again to everyone for contributing to this great collective effort; healthcare professionals, employees, customers and suppliers. As you know, we really like a challenge. Without a doubt, this change will transform us into better people and better companies.