This week is the 8th annual healthcare worker week.
This years theme is leaders on the line which aims to highlight the importance of the importance of health worker leadership, the need to provide greater leadership opportunities for frontline health workers, and its impact on the front lines of care and the entire world. At the same time, this theme emphasizes how health workers put themselves on the line, often at great personal risk to themselves and their families, to save and improve lives.
Around the world this week people are celebrating the heroic achievements of thier healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In keeping with the theme of this year’s event now is the time for us all to act as leaders and try and influence policy which directly affects our healthcare workers particularly during this pandemic this could be around workforce planning, PPE and occupational safety, education, addressing gender inequalities/barriers or even funding issues. Now is the time for us all to step up and take responsibilities for the lives and careers of ourselves and our colleagues.
Actions to Take This Week.
There are loads of ways to get involved, it could be through Twitter, Facebook, conversations at work, letters to politicians, meetings with managers in essence whatever works for you!
- Use the hashtag #WHWWeek to honour your friends, colleagues and healthcare staff this week
- Get in touch with your local politician and policy makers and share the Frontline Health Workers Coalition recommendations on COVID-19 with particular emphasis on PPE
- Donate and ask your government to support the COVID solidartiy response fund or other similar charities
Resources
All the resources you need have kindly been shared by frontlinehealthworkers.org in a Google Docs document for eaveryone to access. Included within the doc are suggested tweets, images, information booklets/leaflets and much more.