On February 23, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The Vitebsk regional organization of the Belarusian Red Cross Society and the Swiss Red Cross are entering a new phase of the project "Strengthening the Nursing Service of the Belarusian Red Cross Society," the chairperson of the regional organization of the Belarusian Red Cross Society, Galina Zhelanova, told a BELTA correspondent. The goal of the new stage of cooperation will be to improve the quality of medical and social assistance and home care for vulnerable population groups and to create a volunteer movement system within the framework of the nursing service, involving relatives, friends, and neighbours. For this purpose, a centre for training the population in the basics of home care will be established in Novopolotsk on the basis of the Novopolotsk city organization of the Red Cross. In the Gluboksky district, a centre for training the population in first aid skills is planned. In the Zheleznodorozhny district of Vitebsk, it is intended to create a resource centre where rehabilitation aids – wheelchairs, crutches, anti-decubitus systems – will be accumulated and provided for temporary use to patients referred from medical and preventive institutions. In addition, nurses will continue their training under the "Kinesthetics in Patient Care" program. This methodology allows for improving patient care, increasing their independence in performing daily life tasks, and preserving the health of nurses when providing home care for severely ill patients who have lost the ability to self-care and move. In 2012, basic kinesthetics training and advanced training sessions are planned. It is possible that nurses from nursing care hospitals will also undergo training under this program, Galina Zhelanova added. She also noted that providing medical and social assistance to lonely elderly people and disabled individuals by the nursing service is one of the strategic directions of the Belarusian Red Cross Society. In the Vitebsk region, the nursing service provides permanent care to 98 patients – Group I disabled individuals and veterans of the Great Patriotic War. In 2011, nurses made over 16,000 visits to them and provided more than 41,600 services. Vulnerable patients receiving home care from nurses have been provided with functional beds under the "Humanitarian Aid to the Vulnerable" program from the Swiss Red Cross. -0-

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