Maternity and Gynaecology services during COVID-19 crisis in Jordan: Challenges and solutionsIbrahim Alsharaydeh1 , Hasan Rawashdeh2 , Noura Saadeh3 , Basil Obeidat4, Nail Obeidat51 Assistant professor, consultant of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. Jordan University of Science& Technology2 Assistant professor, consultant of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Jordan University of Science& Technology3 Speciality trainee, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, King Abdullah University Hospital4 Professor, consultant of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Jordan University of Science & Technology5 Professor, consultant & Dean of faculty of medicine, Jordan University of Science & TechnologyCOVID-19 pandemic has spread all over the world over the last few months. COVID-19 is an infectious condition and can spread, directly or indirectly, from one person to another. It involves the respiratory tract system and is caused by the newly discovered corona-virus, known previously as “2019 novel coronavirus”, first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. As of April 30. 2020, nearly 3,200,000 people across the globe have been infected with this virus with approximately over 230,000 confirmed deaths globally.[1][6]Jordan is a Middle-Eastern country with approximately 10 million people, it is considered an upper-middle-income country, according to the World Bank. According to the Centre for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University[1] and world health Organization (WHO) website[2], the first case in Jordan was reported on March the 2nd, 2020. The total number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Jordan as of April 30th, was 451 (Figure 1), with 8 deaths, 5 patients in critical condition, and 362 patients having recovered from the disease.The Jordanian government made swift changes to address this crisis. Starting March 14th, 2020, Jordan suspended study in schools and universities, stopped gatherings in places of worship, closed its borders, and stopped all incoming and outgoing flights. This was later followed by an enforced complete lockdown (curfew). Five thousand Jordanians— who later flew into Jordan—were placed in quarantine in hotels in the Dead Sea region and in Amman for 14 days. The Ministry of Health assigned a few major hospitals in Jordan as referral centres for patients with COVID-19; one in the north, which is our hospital -King Abdullah University Hospital (KAUH)- and others in the middle and southern parts of the country.Our institution, KAUH, is a tertiary canter with 683 beds, expandable to 800 beds during emergencies[3]. It is the teaching hospital affiliated with Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) School of Medicine, one of the leading medical schools in Jordan and the region[4]. KAUH is the only referral centre for COVID-19 cases in the north of Jordan, serving five big cities (a total of 3-4 million people). As of April the 30th, 2020, we treated about 103 patients diagnosed with COVID-19.As the government announced the emergency state and later the lockdown, KAUH outpatient clinics were closed, and elective procedures and surgeries were rescheduled. The Obstetrics and Gynaecology department at King Abdullah University Hospital has made multiple adjustments to confront COVID-19 challenges. Challenges including; patients limited mobility as a result of curfew, limited number of medical and nursing staff and limited access to theatres, imaging services, blood banks and laboratory services. Therefore, we implemented changes at 4 levels: Patient care, Staff governance, Residency programmes and Medical student teaching programme.
