Siilo, Europe’s largest messaging network for health and care professionals, is offering all health and care professionals across the UK free access to its organisational crisis management functionality in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Over the past two weeks, downloads of the Siilo app have surged and usage has tripled, with the app’s crisis management tool being used to ensure urgent communication can be made whilst dealing with the increasing influx of patients presenting with COVID-19.
Siilo, which is free to download from both Apple and Android app stores, is now ensuring this premium crisis management functionality is available completely free of charge for as long as is needed.
With the NHS grappling with outdated means of communication — such as pagers and fax machines — it is hoped that by adopting Siilo healthcare organisations will be able to maintain communication more efficiently on the frontline whilst also keeping themselves safe.
Dr Darren Lui, Spinal and Orthopaedic Surgeon at St George’s Hospital, said: “Maintaining open and up-to-date lines of communication is crucial with hospitals dealing with a growing number of patients, which is why our team is using Siilo to communicate safely, effectively and efficiently to discuss and share information and pictures while remaining compliant.
“We’ve seen the benefits of WhatsApp in these situations, but of course it comes with the major caveat of confidentiality. Even at this time of crisis, we need to ensure we are communicating as safely and securely as possible — we owe it to our patients.
“As the global pandemic worsens, my advice to healthcare organisations is to download Siilo. You shouldn’t think twice about it.”
As experienced by medical professionals in northern Italy, the ability to rapidly connect and share information has been critical, and Siilo users across Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, as well as those at the epicentre of the pandemic in Italy, are using the app to connect whole hospitals and regions on one secure platform, create and coordinate crisis messaging groups, and centrally broadcast crucial messages to the workforce, to ensure all the right people stay informed and connected.
Prof. Martin Möckel, Chief of Emergency Medicine and Acute Care, Charité Hospital, Berlin added: “As hospitals, we have clear crisis response plans but pandemics like Coronavirus extend beyond just our walls and require us to think and act bigger. There is a crucial need for organisational, regional, and national alignment in this ever-changing landscape.”
Since the global pandemic began, Siilo has noticed three common use-cases being deployed to help combat the spread of the COVID-19:
- Internal networks to send time-sensitive updates on the spread of the virus to minimise the risk of in-hospital transmission
- Peer networks, including all national infectious disease and intensive care specialists, to share real-time insights in the treatment of their COVID-19 patients
- Regional and global networks including department heads to address capacity problems, resource allocation, and disseminating treatment protocols
Dr Joost Bruggeman, CEO of Siilo, said: “COVID-19 developments are painfully exposing how legacy silos and time-consuming phone tag are slowing down collaboration and knowledge sharing.
“We’ve seen organisations and users coordinate crisis plans and communicate with impacted staff all across Europe on our platform. We want to make that a possibility for all overburdened healthcare organisations so they can continue to focus on their patients.”
The Siilo team has also extended its hours to keep up with increasing demand to answer questions and expedite user onboarding. Click here to see how Siilo is helping organisations address COVID-19.