Workplace Prevention and Control of COVID-19 Compliance Monitoring

• Workforce, Policy, and Governance
• Complexity, Emergencies, and Sustainability

 Workplace Safety, Occupational Safety & Health, Health worker safety, COVID-19

Reyza Marxel S. Kennedy, MAN, RN

Mary Grace U. Sta. Ana, DMD, MBAH

Objectives

Safety measures for workplaces have been implemented to protect workers from COVID-19, with local government agencies and international organizations emphasizing the need for infection prevention. The Philippines' Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) has provided guidelines for employers to implement.

Makati Medical Center (MMC) implements policies and guidelines to ensure safety and efficiency. However, the hospital's diverse services require minimal movement, making monitoring and cascading information challenging for Occupational Safety & Health Officers.

Several measures have been implemented to protect workers from the threat of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Local government agencies and international organizations have strongly reiterated the importance of keeping the workplace safe against spreading of infection. Guidelines were handed down by the Philippines' Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) to employers for them to implement in their workplaces.

Makati Medical Center (MMC) has thoroughly created policies and implemented these guidelines throughout the hospital. However, since the hospital has a broad scope of services housed in different areas, movement from one place to another is strictly kept to a minimum. Thus, monitoring & cascading information with learning feedback in all units by the hospital's Occupational Safety & Health (OSH) Officers is challenging.

To monitor and impose the implementation of the policies and protocols on COVID-19, the OSH Committee's Safety Officers (SO) Link and the Quality, Safety, and Compliance Champions (QSCC) were delegated to monitor and disseminate the policies of the hospital regarding COVID-19 to their respective areas of jurisdiction.

Methods

Policies and guidelines were initially disseminated through OSH Huddles, virtual lectures, and evaluations. These sessions were conducted on October and November 2020, with a learning check at the end. Enrichment and additional lectures were disseminated through safety officers and QSCCs after sessions. An OSH Kit folder was provided for universality. Infographics and webinars were conducted by departments and committees, including the COVID-19 policies and guidelines on the Team Site.

Monitoring:

Environmental Rounds were started in September 2020, with Safety Officers and QSCCs was given a Microsoft Form Link as a checklist. The OSH Officers collected responses and presented findings to the OSH committee and hospital leadership, ensuring compliance with the policies and guidelines.

 OSH Huddle:

Initial information dissemination regarding policies and guidelines was done thru OSH Huddles, which was done thru a virtual lecture with a question-and-answer session and an evaluation at the end of each session. Each area was asked to schedule their respective staff to attend. Those who could not join the sessions were asked to have a safety officer or a QSCC reiterate the discussion. The sessions were conducted last October 22, 26, 27, 29, November 19 & 23, 2020. After the discussion, a Learning check is given at the end of each session to gauge the staff's learning.

Succeeding sessions, enrichment, and additional lectures were disseminated thru the safety officer and QSCCs. An OSH Kit folder containing updated material, updated monthly during 2020-2021 and quarterly for 2022, was given for the material's universality. Different concerned departments and committees also did infographics and webinars. Availability of COVID-19 policies, guidelines, and infographics was also made readily available on the Team Site. Other webinars were conducted by the Infection Control Committee & Employee Well-being Clinic to enrich and reiterate staff's knowledge regarding COVID-19. A refresher was conducted the following year since some IATF guidelines were changed.

Monitoring:

Monitoring of implementation on compliance with the policies and guidelines was done thru Environmental Rounds, which started on September 2020. The Safety Officers & QSCCs were given a Microsoft Form Link as a checklist. The checklist is answered every first and third week of the month. The OSH Officers collate these responses every second and fourth week and present them to the OSH committee and the hospital leadership. Findings are also communicated to the concerned departments for their action.

Results

OSH Officers did OSH Huddles last October & November 2020; a refresher in October & November 2021 was also conducted. The OSH Huddle session attendees scored an average of 93% for the learning evaluation for October & November 2020 and 93.5% for the refresher last October & November 2021. Some departments requested additional sessions during March & April 2021, with a learning evaluation average of 90%.

The compliance ratings were monitored throughout the year and were averaged monthly. As shown in Fig. 1., staff compliance with COVID-19 policies and guidelines has consistently increased by 2-4% per month.

The average yearly compliance shows a constant increase in compliance rating in 2020 at 88.5%, in 2021 at 93% (4.5% increase from 2020), and 93.41% in 2022 (0.41% increase from 2021), respectively.

The OSH committee reviewed the parameters to ensure conformity with the regulations set forth by the government & during the rapid drop in the compliance rating. Other actions done during the decrease in compliance were as follows:

1. Sending of Email Updates & Reminders to QSCCs and SOs (February 2021, January 2022, April 2022, July 2022, October 2022)
2. Administrative & Engineering Controls related to COVID-19 were revisited and enhanced during the OSH Committee & Safety Officers Link meetings (August 2020, October 2020, April 2021, March, and April 2022)
3. Provision of additional Engineering controls such as additional hand rubs, placement of acrylic barriers, and conversion of ordinary rooms to pressure-regulated rooms
4. Additional signage and reminders are posted throughout the hospital.

Conclusion

The 2-4% increase in the monthly compliance rating and the yearly growth of the annual compliance ratings from 88.5% in 2020 to 93.41% in 2022 shows that constant information dissemination and monitoring can increase staff compliance with COVID-19 workplace prevention and control protocols. Information dissemination and monitoring thru delegation up to the unit levels help improve staff adherence to COVID-19 protocols.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

REFERENCES- IATF Guidelines, OSH Standards, MMC OSH Program, MMC Workplace Prevention and Control of COVID-19 Compliance Monitoring Reports