Improving occupational safety and health in healthcare settings -- TOT Workshop on HIV and HealthWISE in China
Healthcare workers in China face high risks of occupational exposure to blood borne pathogens including HIV in their daily medical practice. Protecting healthcare workers’ rights and improving their occupational safety and health conditions will leads to better medical service.
China is home to nine million healthcare workers, which contributes to one tenth of health providers across the world. Yet, healthcare workers in China are at high risk of occupational exposure to blood-borne pathogens such as HIV in the course of their daily medical practice.
Healthcare setting has been called worldwide that one of the most hazardous places to work. According to the US CDC, cases of nonfatal occupational injury and illness with healthcare workers are among the highest of any industry sector. On average, hospitals recorded 6.8 work-related injuries and illnesses for every 100 full-time employees in 2011 in U.S. and this however was almost twice the rate for private industry as a whole.
Healthcare workers need protection from workplace hazards just as much as do mining or construction workers. Yet, because their job is to care for the sick and injured, healthcare workers are often viewed as “immune” to injury or illness. Their patients come first and they are often expected to sacrifice their own well-being for the sake of their patients. There’s a great need to improve healthcare workers awareness and skills of occupational safety and health.
The HealthWISE Training Manuals developed jointly by the ILO and WHO, is based on the ILO WISE methodology, which has been successfully applied for more than 20 years and adapted to several economic sectors. Aim of the HealthWISE is to provide healthcare institutions with a practical, participatory and cost-effective tool to improve work conditions, performance, occupational health and safety for health workers, and the quality of health services provided.
The ILO working together with Chinese Association on AIDS/STD Prevention and Control will organize the second TOT Training Workshop on HIV and HealthWISE from 28 to 30 November 2016 in Nanning City, Guangxi Province. OSH focal points from local hospitals, officials from local trade unions, health department and other related stakeholders will join the training workshop.
