ISCoS Podcast: What Really Matters,

Episodes 3 and 4 of the SCI Care:

What Really Matters podcast discusses exiting the lockdown and the implications for SCI care. 

Please note: these episodes were recorded in July 2020, and many countries have experienced multiple lockdowns since then.  

Dr Chhabra continues to explore the impact that Covid-19 is having on the services for those with spinal cord injury. He is joined by Dr Tara Jeji, Dr James Milligan, Dr Rainer Abel and Dr Allison Graham to discuss this further.  

Episode three considers the challenges of finding a balance between the constraints of lockdown to protect vulnerable members of the population and the relaxation of these measures to open up hospital service access for all consumers, particularly those with SCI. 

Strategies and principles to identify, prioritise and manage risks of procedures and continuity of patient care and the measures that should be employed in different environments to open up services are discussed.  

 The panel discusses different approaches to emerging from lock down along with the many broader factors that must be considered in terms of community wellbeing such as socioeconomic equity, mental health, geographical constraints, education, and partnerships with healthcare consumers in planning the way forward. 

 These key questions guide the conversation in this episode:  

Q1.  Why are confinement measures of lockdown not suitable in the long run?  

Q2. What are the concerns about relaxing the safety measure of lockdown and resuming all hospital services too soon?  

Q3.  What are the goal-posts to be achieved before hospital services for elective patients could be restarted? 

 Episode four concludes the discussion on factors crucial to the care of people with SCI as COVID restrictions lift. 

 “There is no going back…so we have had an opportunity to look at almost everything that we do, how we do it and if it’s going to be the best way because we don’t know how long COVID is going on for.” (Dr Graham)  

  Managing the wellness of sicker patients; keeping staff and carers safe, collaboratively reducing interprofessional boundaries; tightening length of stay by building partnership bridges with community supports; and telehealth are highlighted as processes that may optimise treatment for SCI patients in this time of COVID 19.   

  In this episode:  

2:18 Q1.  As we exit the lockdown would the principles of management be any different?  

23:00 Q2. Once restrictions ease, an enormous backlog of patients is likely & there will be a need to select more serious cases who will need immediate help. What could be strategies to deal with the patient backlog?  

 For your interest, the ISCoS provides a number of COVID-related resources.