Like many regions in Sweden, in March Region Västmanland faced a desperate situation with an urgent need for protective equipment due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Stocks were running low and the decision was made to start up a production line of protective coats and enlist the help of the public to produce them. To do this, a fast and user-friendly way of communication and administration was needed. Region Västmanland got in touch with us at Sigholm and commissioned us to develop a website as quickly as possible with information about work shifts and the opportunity for citizens and healthcare professionals to sign up to help in the production.
The website was developed over a weekend
In just one weekend, the website vårdstödet.se was developed. This allowed managers from Region Västmanland to post recurring shifts themselves, where anyone could create an account and volunteer for the shifts. All shifts were displayed in a calendar with color indications to get a picture of when there was a critical need for more volunteers or if enough people had signed up. Why we at Sigholm were asked for the assignment was with the hope that we would be able to solve the assignment in the shortest possible time. The assignment was received on a Friday afternoon with final delivery on Sunday.
Skills that contribute to societal benefit
This type of assignment is not something we usually do, but with knowledge in the organization, we wanted to do what we could to help in an ongoing pandemic. The assignment taught us that our expertise can also contribute to societal benefit in areas other than our primary areas of operation. It was great to see how a quickly assembled cross-functional team was able to solve the task so quickly, and how our colleagues are available at short notice even during a weekend.
Watch the clip to get a summary of what we have produced for Region Västmanland:
