Proposed Topic (Most preferred): :
Staff Engagement and Empowerment (motivating staff / teamwork / work revamp tackling manpower issue / staff wellness / OSH / retention)
Proposed Topic (Second preferred): :
Clinical Safety and Quality Service II (Projects aiming to enhance clinical safety and outcomes, clinical governance / risk management)
Authors (including presenting author) :
So FT(1), Wong KCM(1), Lo CSL(1), Tsang DSW(1), Woo LC(2), Fok JPC(1), Leung MKW(1)
Affiliation :
(1) Occupational Medicine Care Service (OMCS), Department of Family Medicine, NTEC
(2) Department of Medicine, Shatin Cheshire Home, NTEC
Introduction :
Frontline healthcare staff (e.g. nurses and supporting staff) in hospital wards will need to perform manual handling (MHO) task in their daily work. It was noted that the staff’s injury-on-duty (IOD) number was on a rising trend from 2020 to 2022 (number of IOD cases: 5 (2020), 10 (2021), 13 (2022)). A focus group involving relevant stakeholders was established in early 2023 to tackle the problem. This paper demonstrated how the WSEP enhanced staff occupational safety and health (reflected by reduction in IOD cases) with staff engagement and management support.
Objectives :
1. Identify occupational hazards in the workplace.
2. Implement appropriate control measures.
3. Facilitate the injured staff to RTW and regain productivity.
4. Identify staff with health problems affecting their duty and support them with appropriate job accommodation.
Methodology :
OMCS team had regular communication and meetings with the management and supervisors (DOM, WMs, APNs) of SCH. Workplace visits were also conducted.
Occupational hazards were identified, corresponding control measures were formulated and implemented with active staff participation. The control measures included: workflow amelioration, equipment modification (e.g. installation of handle on sliding door and adjustment of the accessory parts of patients’ bed) and environmental improvement recommendations. Two tailor-made MHO train-the-trainer training workshops were arranged for the frontline staff on the correct MHO techniques and ways of IOD prevention. For staff with health problems affecting their work, proactive interventions and care were offered. For Staff with IOD, occupational rehabilitation and disability management were carried out to facilitate early RTW.
Result & Outcome :
Significant drop in the IOD number was noted after the implementation of the WSEP. There were only 6 cases of IOD in 2023. It showed that the WSEP was effective in improving workplace safety and staff occupational health. Evaluation survey was also conducted. 75% of the respondents rated “very agree” that the workshops were useful while 25% of them rated “agree”. The feedback was positive and encouraging. Supervisors’ feedback was also very positive and they believe that it was useful to reduce IOD and to facilitate early RTW of the staff.
