Although often unseen, social workers provide important care to the most vulnerable. During the pandemic, they have visited patients in their homes, been close to them in difficult times, and have often been the only company patients could count on during months of lockdowns and restrictions.
In this video, Dr Søren Brostrøm, Director-General of the Danish Health Authority, speaks with Christina, a social worker in the Copenhagen area. Christina walks us through her daily work and shares how the pandemic has challenged her in her job.
“One of the hardest things has been the distance we’ve had to keep from our patients,” Christina says. “Things like sitting and holding hands and just giving a hug – we haven’t been able to do much of that.”
To mark this year’s Universal Health Coverage Day, WHO/Europe is sharing stories of health workers across the entire health and care workforce, including social workers. The challenges the health workforce has faced deserve recognition, appreciation and – most importantly – commitment from governments.
With a call to “protect and invest in health workers”, WHO/Europe is advocating for concrete actions to support the millions of workers like Christina who have stepped up during these challenging times, keeping us safe.
Watch Christina’s story here.
