Physical distance should not be an obstacle in helping others. From the diagnosis day onwards, the Oncological Forum in Celle offers cancer patients competent and deeply human psycho-oncological and nursing advice and support. This service and the feeling of safety and support must not be lost during the difficult times of Covid-19.
The work of the Oncological Forum in Celle
The manner in which the support of the teams of psycho-oncologists and palliative care specialists is structured, depends entirely on the needs of the affected people. It does not matter whether it is at the consultation center, at the hospital or at home. Even with psychosocial concerns, such as changes in the family situation, emerging fears or unrest, they stand by the patient and are available 24/7 for those affected. One thing that is clearly evident in the day-to-day interaction of the specialists with the patients is that only well-informed, self-determined and empowered patients have the opportunity to independently shape and follow their own way of life – accompanied by the members of their families.
Additional challenge: Covid-19
The team at the Oncological Forum needs protective equipment in order to meet the current challenges posed by Covid-19. Like everywhere else these days, this is scarce. “The number of masks used every day essentially depends on how many home visits for seriously ill people and with limited life-time we make. It also depends on the frequency of the crises to which we are on-call duty. “That currently levels off between 5 and 15 masks a day,” says the head of the outpatient palliative service, Katharina Winterhoff. “It is essential that psycho-oncological counseling for cancer patients is carried out face-to-face. This is indeed difficult during these Corona times and it is as well limited to special emergencies. Nevertheless, this is the only way that long-term care can work. “At the moment, my colleagues are concentrating on making people feel like they have not been forgotten. This can also be done by phone,” said the “Oncological Forum” spokesman, Fritz Gleiß, during his visit to Isernhagen.
Inwerken: support and further measures
“We have asked ourselves how we can help quickly and easily,” explains Inwerken CEO Frank Bachmann. “For years, the valuable work of the Oncological Forum has been very close to our hearts. We came up with the idea of using our existing contacts to support this idea. With this, he means the consulting company Kesada in particular, which has been a close contact with the wholly-owned subsidiary of Inwerken,“ WSN Technologies AG”, for many years. At www.troepfchen-schutz.de they offer appropriate protection products for the corona pandemic. Inwerken succeeded in organizing 100 medical masks and 150 simple protective masks and donating them to the oncological forum.
We are currently working on further measures: “On the one hand, we enable our employees to support the forum and at the same time protect themselves and others in everyday life,” says Frank Bachmann. It is planned that simple protective masks will be issued to all employees. Whether the people keep the masks and use them for their own needs or donate these to the forum is up to them. At the same time, Inwerken supports the oncological forum with the corresponding spending amount for the masks. “Everyone benefits from it and everyone is thought of. It is important that we take care of our surroundings. Politics can move and do a lot, but it is our responsibility to support them as best as we can and to see that nobody is forgotten. ”
The Inwerken AG team says “Thank you” for the valuable work of the Oncological Forum in Celle. Stay healthy.
