A MEDICAL student in Dumfries and Galloway is receiving national attention for an app created to provide support to health and social care professionals during the COVID-19 outbreak.
ScotGEM Yr2 Dumfries and Galloway medical student Cassandra Baiano and fellow student Ronald MacDonald have created a web app that allows NHS and social care staff to post their needs such as childcare, pet care, grocery shopping, admin and more over the course of the pandemic.
In response, students can offer their help for free with the tasks based on location.
Cassandra and Ronald said: “HealthSHIP is the student-led social movement rooted in compassion for the health of our communities.
“The aim is to support front line healthcare staff with everyday tasks from caring responsibilities to grocery shopping.
“We believe the impact of COVID-19 will span the entirety of our social fabrics and each will have a role to play in the hindrance of this pandemic.”
They added: “Students may not be able to work on the front line yet, but we can support those that do.
“We have built this from the ground up and have not outsourced any of the development of this site. Therefore, users can be reassured that their information will never be used for commercial purposes.”
The idea is to reach as many front line healthcare workers that it can help as possible.
For more information, visit https://healthship.org/registration
The app has gained national attention in the Health Service Journal (HSJ), and NHS Dumfries and Galloway Librarian Audrey Marshall said: “It’s great news to see what some of our ScotGEM students have managed to set up.
“What is especially gratifying is that the Health Services Journal (HSJ) normally deals only with NHS England issues.”