The Ministry of Health has hosted a one-day workshop at the Ocean View International Hotel with officials from health offices to sensitise them to occupational health and safety practices and heighten their awareness of safety measures for those who are at risk of developing sicknesses and infections due to exposure of fluids.

Blood borne diseases and viruses that can infect workers in their line of duty include Human Immuno Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and Hepatitis

Participants at the occupational health and safety workshop at the Ocean View International Hotel.

.Minister of Health Dr. Leslie Ramsammy stated that his Ministry is committed to safeguarding the welfare of health workers around the country; and at the management and policymaking level in all health organisations, occupational safety should not be treated as an add-on rule.

He said that it is an integral part of services provided and will result in significant reductions of health hazards at any health office, not only hospitals, but clinics and health centres also.

Guyana’s health and safety legislation will ensure that health practices are observed.

In health facilities, there is a lot of waste generated, and the Ministry will ensure that the capacity must be there to deal with such waste since this will contribute to health hazards if solutions are not found.

Guyana signed on to the Global Patient Safety Initiative, and though this is not widely known, the Ministry of Health will continue providing quality healthcare services to the public and continue to practice occupational health and safety for healthcare workers.

The objectives of the workshop were to identify occupational health and safety issues for healthcare workers with a special focus on H1N1, and develop a plan of action for addressing health and safety issues for healthcare workers.

It sought to identify interventions and resources available to address these health and safety concerns and allowed participants to discuss proper selection and use of personal protective equipment.

The Ministry of Health partnered with the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) to ensure that heads of the health institutions were sensitised to the measures which they can implement to further boost the level of safety for healthcare workers. (GINA)