The stress on doctors at a private Cape Town hospital has been hugely eased by a humane and smart way of communicating with family members of Covid-19 patients.

“In a pandemic situation when patients are pouring in and out of hospital, we are unable to have a particular doctor to look after a particular patient,” says oncologist Dr Irene Boeddinghaus (https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/34276320_Irene_Boeddinghaus), who is coordinating the palliative care team at Vincent Pallotti Hospital.

“Every day there is a different face, or not even a face, half a [doctor’s] face, behind a mask and visor,” she said. Covid-19 teams in hospitals work shifts in the wards and ICUs on a rotational basis...