Hands joint to act for occupational safety and health

In order to raise awareness and compliance with the law on occupational safety and health, the provincial health sector has developed a plan to implement a series of activities in May. With the leadership and direction of the health and public sector, the occupational safety and health activities of the units in the past year have obtained many positive results.

Provincial Center for Occupational Health and Environment examines occupational diseases for employees

Many remarkable results

The medical is a specific sector with high labor intensity in all specialties. Medical staff must directly contact patients and participate in the treatment of epidemics, so they are very susceptible to infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, SARS, H5N1, and COVID -19. Not only that, medical staff are also exposed to many other harmful risk factors such as dust containing pathogens, radiation, electromagnetic fields, ultrasound, noise, anesthetic gases, disinfectant chemicals and so on.

Dr. Huynh Minh Chinh, Deputy Director of the Department of Health, said that over the years, medical units have established labor protection councils, and many units have arranged specialized staff on safety and hygiene of work. The Labor Protection Council has developed regulations on occupational safety and health of the unit; to develop a labor protection plan; to organize training on occupational safety and health for the safety and hygiene network of students and employees. The student safety and hygiene network disseminates new regulations, policies and regimes on labor protection to employees. Under annual inspections, medical facilities regularly check, urge and remind employees to strictly comply with regulations on occupational safety and health, and use of effectively protective equipment and individuals during work.

The agency's health sector has advised the unit's leaders on the plan of periodic health check, nursing and rehabilitation plan for employees doing heavy, hazardous jobs or having health examination results of periodic health types IV and V or occupational disease; prevention and control of occupational infections and prevention of a number of occupational infectious diseases in the medical sector. The units have propagated and disseminated professional documents, prevention and control of hospital infections, and codes of conduct for medical staff, regulations on medical ethics, regimes and policies for employees. Some units have organized occupational safety training for officials and employees operating medical machinery and equipment.

In the field of employee health care, the units have organized periodical health checks for employees. Based on the results of periodical health checks, the unit has arranged jobs suitable for the health of employees. Every year, the government coordinates with the trade union for officials and employees to go on sightseeing and vacation while organizing nursing and rehabilitation. The units have fully equipped personal protective equipment for employees such as protective clothings, gloves, boots, glasses, and specialized clothings for the prevention and control of dangerous diseases, masks, earplugs etc. to meet job requirements. The allowances for harmful and dangerous fostering in kind has been seriously implemented by the units. Due to the peculiarity of the medical sector with many specialties, machinery and equipment with strict requirements on occupational safety are also registered and strictly inspected.

Diversified activities

The month of action on occupational safety and health 2022 is held throughout May to focally raise awareness and compliance with the law on occupational safety and health. The theme of the action month is "Strengthening assessment and management of occupational safety and health risks in the workplace, safe adaptation, flexibility and effective control of the COVID-19 epidemic." Activities of action month are to promote specific programs and activities to prevent occupational accidents and diseases, to improve working conditions in establishments and enterprises, to raise awareness for employers and employees in the implementation of the Law on Occupational Safety and Health, adapting safely, flexibly and effectively to control the COVID-19 epidemic.

Responding to the Occupational Safety and Health Action Month 2022, the provincial health sector has deployed plans to all public and non-public health facilities in the province. The plan was developed with many important contents such as strengthening information and communication activities, information technology application, social network, and internal broadcasting. The health sector shall coordinate interdisciplinary inspection and examination of occupational safety and health, take care of workers' health, and improve working conditions for establishments with many hazardous and dangerous factors of occupational disease. The content of the inspection and examination focuses on production facilities that use chemicals and solvents in the leather, footwear, garment, electronic industries, etc., which provide periodic health check-up and occupational disease examination on working environment.

In addition, the inspection team also inspected the implementation of occupational safety and health work of medical facilities in the area including adapting safely, flexibly and effectively controlling the COVID-19 epidemic at the hospital and workplace; to plan and organize health check-ups to detect occupational diseases for employees; to monitor the working environment, and to implement regulations on assessment and control of risk factors; to organize contests, seminars, and workshops on occupational safety and health, prevention and control of occupational diseases, accidents and injuries. Hospitals and medical examination and treatment establishments have strengthened the organization of training activities, specialized training on occupational safety and hygiene for medical staff, prevention of occupational accidents and diseases to adapt safely, flexibly and effectively control the COVID-19 epidemic. Medical units in the province, depending on their functions and professional tasks, will develop and implement specific response activities.

Reported by Hoang Linh – The Phuong – Translated by Vi Bao