Page 93 - FIGHT AGAINST UNCERTAINTY 5 FEB 2021

Healthcare Workers -

The Heart of Healthcare

The safety and well-being of HCW is and always will
be top priority. Merely providing adequate PPE is
not enough, each HCW needs to be equipped with
necessary knowledge, skills, and support throughout
the journey. To help with this, a special set of guidelines
were developed collectively by the human resource
and the Occupational Health & Safety (OSH) teams.
A pre, during and post-departure guideline provided
a structured approach for equipping all HCW
with the right information for the deployment. This
comprehensive guideline that included pertinent
information on the deployment, contact person, mental
health kit among others were made available to all
health facilities.

One key aspect of this guideline was to ensure training
on donning and doffing of PPE were conducted by
deploying facility. This key step, was a collaboration
between the IPC and OSH unit addressing safety
concerns as well as putting in place measures of
infection prevention to HCW. The guideline also
included a pre-departure mental health preparation
session. Throughout the deployment phase various
support strategies were put in place. In addition to
reporting and continuous communication with the host
unit, a communication loop between these individuals
and the human resource unit by means of a WhatsApp
chat group is available. It provides an avenue to share
up-to-date guidelines as well as regular prompts to
adhere to SOP. Furthermore, continuity of care for these
mobilised HCW is carried out through monitoring of
feedback and weekly reports. COVID-19 Patient Declaration Form
79