Because of the current pandemic, many airline and hotel employees found themselves on unpaid leave. In Sweden, employees of these two sectors are trained to work as hospital assistants, as the number of deaths approaches 900 people in this Scandinavian country.
Airline personnel, most of them from Scandinavian Airlines, which last month said it would put 10,000 employees on unpaid leave, would benefit from qualification courses to assist in hospitals, and hotel workers would undergo training to work in nursing homes.
"I had never imagined, when we started the new year 2020, that I would end up working here," said Lina Engliblo, the flight attendant at Scandinavian Airlines, who was involved in training at the Sofia Mimet University Medical Hospital. After a three-day intensive course in the Department of Infectious Diseases, Hygiene and Treatment of Patients, and one day of practical training, Engelblum, 48, began working as a medical assistant at Red Brick Hospital in Stockholm.
Participants from the course were sent to work in Sofia Memet, and other hospitals in the Stockholm area, who will pay their salaries. The hostess now performs administrative tasks, helping to clean and welcome patients.
University Hospital President Joanna Adami said that the previous hosts' experience is helpful. "They are trained in first aid and in dealing with the most common diseases, as well as how to care for people and care for their safety," she said.
The training was taking place in the Sofia Memet building, but after Sweden decided to close higher education institutions, the process moved to the Internet. The first round of training for 30 of the Scandinavian company's staff was held on March 31, and another 300 will be trained in the coming weeks.