The ”la Caixa” Foundation offers psychological help for health personnel fighting the COVID-19
Healthcare workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic in the first line of defence are suffering from the exhaustion of endless days and the psychological pressure that this entails. Faced with this difficult situation, the ”la Caixa” Foundation has made available to these professionals an online platform for psychological care and monitoring, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. The Galatea Foundation will be the first to implement this psychological care.
“We want to support, in this way, the anonymous angels who are leaving their skin in the first line of intervention to fight against the coronavirus disease. Our aim, and that of the team of psychologists who will be at their disposal, is to make the essential and invaluable work they are doing in such a delicate situation as this more bearable, as far as possible,” explained Isidro Fainé, president of the ”la Caixa” Banking Foundation.
The aim is to respond to the concerns and fears of healthcare personnel, which manifest themselves in stress, anxiety and even depression.
Through this telematic service, which is widely available, we hope to provide them with the support they need. The service is offered by videoconference or telephone, with sessions lasting between 20-30 minutes, given that it is not a conventional psychotherapeutic intervention, but rather a psychological intervention in very exceptional circumstances.
Access to this service will be free of charge, by calling 900 670 777 and with opening hours from 9 am to 10 pm, seven days a week. In the first phase of development, it is expected to handle about 1,000 calls per day, coming from all over the country.
The Galatea Foundation, which is actively collaborating in this initiative, was created in 2001 by the Council of Medical Associations of Catalonia, following the experience of the Comprehensive Care Programme for Sick Physicians (PAIMM), to ensure the health and well-being of all health professionals and, consequently, to guarantee better quality care for citizens.
Faced with the health crisis situation caused by COVID-19, the Galatea Foundation has redirected its resources to offer psychological support through an online platform to health professionals with emotional distress and suffering.
The launch of this psychological care service is part of the various initiatives being promoted by the ”la Caixa” Foundation to respond to the coronavirus crisis from different perspectives. Among these, the mobilization of professionals from the Program for the Integral Care of People with Advanced Diseases stands out, with the aim of supporting the units dedicated to those affected by the coronavirus and their families.
The Foundation is also intensifying its efforts to attend to homes with children and young people in vulnerable situations linked to the CaixaProinfancia program. Specifically, the entity has allocated an extraordinary three million euros to food aid aimed at more than 10,000 families.
In addition to these social initiatives, it supports scientific research to combat the coronavirus, including collaboration with international reference centers such as ISGlobal and IrsiCaixa.