Online support for patients under lockdown

Patients and family members quarantined at the Shanghai Cancer Center’s Xuhui branch are able to have uninterrupted online chat thanks to emergency support from the local telecom authority.

The hospital’s Xuhui branch has been under lockdown since last Thursday after a worker was confirmed with coronavirus.

Due to the quarantine, there has been an increase in demand for communication between hospital departments and epidemic control teams, between different departments within the hospital, and between patients and family. 

Some departments also conduct livestreaming to promote health education.

Quarantined patients said signals were usually poor at night when all contact their family and friends. They said they were very anxious and worried if the communication with their family was interrupted by poor signals.

The hospital issued a request to the local telecommunication authority, which arranged an emergency communication vehicle on Friday to ensure smooth service.

All signals and equipment installations were fulfilled on the day, and patients said their online chat with families ran smoothly on Friday night. They expressed their gratitude to the hospital and telecommunication authority.