Healthcare workers, who represent two to three per cent of the population in the world (World Health Organisation 2020), are undoubtedly in the frontline in battling the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Their allegiance and sacrifice have ensured that patients' safety is top priority and they have endeavoured to reduce patients' suffering and to save lives.
However, being placed in the forefront and high-risk area has made them the most vulnerable group to infections. WHO reports that around 14 per cent of Covid-19 cases are health workers.
In some countries, the proportion can be as high as 35 per cent. In Malaysia, two per cent of infected cases are health workers, while in the United States, the figures have spiralled to nearly 570,000 health workers falling ill and more than 3,000 having succumbed to the virus.
This global pandemic provides a stark reminder of the importance of health workers and their safety. They are not only exposed to risks of contracting illnesses, but their emotional and psychological wellbeing have been affected too.
The pandemic has taken a toll on them by the long hours and separation from families for fear of spreading the infection.
Sometimes, unfortunately, negative comments are posted about health workers, but the majority of the world's population respects and appreciates their dedication.
Ensuring the safety of health workers and patients is a symbiosis between the two because health workers need to be fit to care for the needs and safety of their patients.
The following suggestions should ensure this close connection.
FIRST, health workers can remain safe by ensuring that they are up-to-date with occupational health and safety. This will ensure that patients, too, are given proper care and treatment.
Periodic refresher courses on how to remain safe and ensure that patients' health is optimised is vital.
These refresher courses will form part of continuous development and may count towards the licensing and accreditation standards of the institution to which they are attached;
SECOND, the authorities should supply frontliners with the correct and certified personal protective equipment (PPE) at all times, in adequate quantity and relevant to the roles and tasks performed, and of appropriate size and acceptable quality.
Proper disinfection at all healthcare facilities should be undertaken. Additionally, they should be vaccinated when vaccines become available in accordance with the national immunisation policy;
THIRD, to promote frontliners' mental health and psychological wellbeing, reasonable working hours, rest breaks and reduced administrative tasks will help.
Insurance coverage for work-related risks has to be put in place. Staff should be accorded an opportunity to voice their concerns.
And for those who are in need of assistance, access to mental health and social support services must be provided. Interdepartmental collaborations on health workers and patients safety, with appropriate stakeholders' representation, should be forged;
FOURTH, there has to be a culture of zero tolerance towards violence against health workers. Health workers must be given sufficient support and access to helplines to report any abuse and the authorities must be quick to take action;
FIFTH, innovation related to health and safety protection during the pandemic has to be encouraged. Sometimes, logic needs to be given due respect.
All available options need to be considered, and if all have been exhausted, then new innovations need to be encouraged. Sometimes, the basics in healthcare should be observed: "Conservative first, invasive last';
SIXTH, funding authorities should be updated with the evolving situation. It is vital for them to understand the urgency of tackling the pandemic to ensure that funds, especially Covid-19-related research funds, not only reach the target safely but also with timeliness to serve its main purpose; and,
LASTLY, as we navigate the uncharted waters of the Covid-19 situation, healthcare leaders have to be constantly vigilant to improve the safety of health workers in the coming years as living with the virus will be the new norm in society.
The writer is the associate professor and dean of Faculty of Allied Health Professions, AIMST University Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times