Family doctors in Cape Town launched a crowd fund to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) for medics without; they are quickly reaching their goal!
Cape Town, South Africa (25 May 2020) – Masks for Medics has been established by a group of caring family doctors in Cape Town in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Borne out of the profound understanding that in order for individuals, families, and communities to be kept safe during the impending pandemic surge, it is imperative that healthcare workers on the front line are provided with the necessary Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to feel secure and not under threat whilst they do the crucial work necessary to save lives.
Dr Anthony Smith, Dr Lauren Lee, Dr Sonia Hough, Dr Julie Etellin, Dr Sarahan Brophy, and Dr Natalia Novikova are the committed doctors who make up the Masks for Medics team. They aim to deliver these services to beneficiaries in the Cape Town CBD, the Cape Flats and in the many township communities. Having all served as doctors for 20 years and tended to patients from every demographic, these doctors understand the value that all people bring to their communities – from the youngest to the oldest.
“In living memory, no doctor has seen the likes of what has swept the world over the past few months with the Covid-19 pandemic. After witnessing the toll the Covid-19 outbreak has had on China, Italy and New York, one thing is certain, we don’t know what we are in for and need to be prepared to avoid devastation.” – says Dr Anthony Smith
With the collective knowledge gained from Covid19 experiences around the world, the Masks for Medics team are aware that hospitals may not be able to accommodate all Covid19 patients. Because of this, many patients will need to be cared for by healthcare workers and by family members, in their own homes.
Healthcare workers who tend to patients at home include nurses, care-givers, emergency responders, doctors, mental health workers, palliative care workers, and anyone who is caring for very sick COVID-19 patients in their own homes. For this, PPE and other medical monitoring equipment are required. The correct PPE ensures that healthcare workers don’t get infected, and also prevents them from infecting other healthy people. PPE includes gowns, masks, visors, gloves, and sanitisers. Monitoring equipment includes pulse oximeters and thermometers.
Crowdfunding on BackaBuddy
With Government funding and traditional channels of distribution not covering PPE for healthcare workers tending to home-based Covid19 patients, the Masks for Medics team have launched a campaign on donations based crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy to bridge the gap and provide essential PPE to the healthcare professionals that have seemingly been forgotten.
“There’s been so many campaigns to support frontline healthcare workers in hospitals across the country, which is immensely important. However, With our campaign, we are focusing on the forgotten; the home-based carers, the nurses caring for the elderly who are most susceptible to the virus, the paramedics and emergency response personnel called out to help those in need and the Palliative Care practitioners caring for those on their deathbeds,”- says Dr. Anthony Smith
With their ‘Masks for Medics’ campaign launched on donations based crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy, the doctors hope to raise funds to:
- Provide the critical PPE which includes gowns, masks, visors, gloves and sanitisers and necessary essential medical equipment such as monitors and thermometers to health care workers, Doctors, Nurses, Palliative Care practitioners, emergency response personal and Carers to the elderly.
- Training of health care workers
- To enable Covid19 patients to be treated in their own homes and thus avoid overburdening the hospitals and healthcare systems
- Dispose of soiled PPE safely
The campaign went live on 14 May 2020 and has thus far raised a total of R120 245.33 towards their fundraising target of R500 000.00 with contributions from 70 donors both locally and abroad.
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“As lockdown eases, community spread increases and winter approaches we expect the number of positive Covid19 patients to exponentially escalate. Compounding this, are the gross inequalities of the South African socio-economic terrain, with many communities experiencing limited resources, overcrowded living conditions and profound vulnerability to the economic downturn this is your opportunity to truly make a difference in your community.” – says Dr Anthony Smith
Support this campaign on BackaBuddy https://www.backabuddy.co.za/masks-for-medics
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