See Beyond the ICU

Background

When the pandemic hit Romania, hospitals scrambled to make more ICU (intensive care unit) beds available. As a result, hundreds of terminally ill cancer patients were sent home without treatment and without a care plan.

Hospice Casa Sperantei, the leading NGO offering palliative care, needed to raise awareness of the issue and persuade more people to donate at a time when everyone’s attention was on COVID-19.

Idea

The problem was brought to life in Facebook’s increasingly popular 3D format.

As viewers ‘moved’ through the 3D imagery, empty beds awaiting pandemic patients were seen before the picture moved on to show cancer patients moved out into the hospital corridors. Titles explained the situation and asked for donations to the cause.

Part of the effect of the campaign was in taking a device usually associated with fun on Facebook diversions and putting it to work in a more serious way.

Results

During the quarantine period, Hospice Casa Sperantei centres managed to give palliative care to 3,958 patients and to perform 5,049 consultations remotely. The organisation’s specialists made 1,059 visits at home and offered 690 psychological counselling sessions.

Our Thoughts

Whether you think your government has overreacted to the coronavirus threat or not, the fact is that there have been ghastly sideeffects.

In New York, for instance, there has been a 398% increase in deaths from heart disease and a 356% increase in deaths from diabetes. Many medics have argued that the risks from cancer, heart attack and stroke are higher than those of Covid-19.

This campaign is raising awareness of what continues to be a major issue, that more people are dying from causes unrelated to Covid than in previous years.