«SOS Coaniquem»: The WhatsApp 24/7 attended by burns experts - the counter

The Corporation for Help to the Burned Child (Coaniquem) invited the community to keep the WhatsApp 24/7, +56 9 3431 9987, with the name of “SOS Coniquem” to facilitate timely attention, guide and ensure a betterForecast of burns or leather injuries.The chat is treated for free by nurses of the institution.

Consultations have been received from all regions of the country.58% of these are by burns caused by hot liquids, 29% correspond to contact lesions with hot objects and 13% for other causes, among which there are also questions about post surgical scars and traumas.

Together with this and with the arrival of the Pandemia, this WhatsApp SOS service became a priority and a support for public health, since it contributes to society delivering a very relevant service.

In this period, in which the children remained longer in their homes, Coaniquem received a proportional increase of 18% in patients with burns caused by hot liquids.Together with the above, despite not being one of the main agents, a 50% growth was found in burns in minors, produced by the manipulation of an electric extender.

“The problem was that with the beginning of the implementation of quarantines that limited the displacement of people, the health system prioritized the care of COVID-19 patients both in the urgencies and in primary care and the population feared the infection in theHealth establishments, "explained the president and founder of Coaniquem, DR.Jorge Rojas Zegers.

"For this, patients suffering from a burn found difficulties in their injuries," he added.

53% of the attentions correspond to female consultations.Of the orientations that have been delivered by 51% of the patients have been attended later in Coaniquem.23% were immediately derived from emergency services, 15% to subsequent control in usual medical services and 11% do not require any derivation.

SOS Coaniquem

Based on the experience collected, and taking into account the situation of many families living far from the care centers, Coaniquem has arranged to maintain and disseminate the remote emergency orientation service.This is offered to the general population as a continuous service (24/7) of delivery of information, guidance, education, support and containment to people who recently suffered a burn at home.

This option can also be accessed through a WhatsApp button offered on the institutional website created for this purpose.Communication is carried out by nurses who, in their professional role, can perform in different fields and at any stage of the life cycle, with healthy or sick people and in the intrah and extrahospital field.

“While our statistics have not reported a global increase in children and young people with burns during pandemic, it is concerned with the increase in risk in children under 5 years, as well as burning burning burnings that cause extensive lesions, and a mechanismEmerging as are those associated with instant soups that come in very flexible containers, "said Rojas.

"They also attract attention those produced by the manipulation of elongators by minors, a phenomenon probably associated with the use of computers, tablets and mobile phones for online classes," he added.

Patient evaluation is performed without direct visual contact that requires rapid and effective identification of the health problem.The conduct of the nurses focuses on guiding and informing about initial care measures, containing, supporting and directing the consultant to go to an emergency service or other health center if that is estimated to be convenient, insaid case, the first indication to be delivered.

Nursing professional staff uses an institutional telephone as a means of communication having implemented a registration system of integrated care to an institutional platform.

Coaniquem has attended more than 140 thousand children from all over Chile in their 42 years of history in a comprehensive and free way.