Evaluating the Implementation of Health-Sector Occupational Health and Safety Policy in Pantang Hospital

Abstract

Background: The various risks arising within the health sector, combined with the fact that this is a high-risk industry, has come under discussion on the need for a specific approach to enhance the protection of the health and safety of hospital staff. In collaboration with the World Health Organization (country office), Ghana Health Service and the Ministry of Health, developed “occupational health and safety policy for the health sector.” However, implementation of this policy has instead been poor. Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate health professionals’ knowledge on the health industry occupational health and safety policy, barriers and facilitators to its implementation in Pantang Hospital. Methodology: The study is a mixed method cross-sectional study that comprised health care workers and facility managers of Pantang Hospital. Those who agreed to participate in the study were interviewed using a structured closed-ended questionnaire and interview guides which captured respondents’ socio-demographic features, their perception of what constitutes a safe workplace, and the barriers and enablers to implementing the health-sector occupational health and safety policy. Respondents were selected via stratified proportionate and purposive sampling methods. Information gathered was entered into Microsoft Excel and exported to SPSS version 23 for descriptive analysis. Thematic analysis was used to identify patterns and themes that evolve following key informant interviews. Results: For the respondents awareness of the policy, the study found that while the majority of respondents were aware of the policy, only a few had ever read it, highlighting the need for increased education and dissemination of the policy. Also, for the respondents perception of workplace safety, it was found that the respondents strongly agreed or agreed with the assertions made on workplace safety, which included having the organization prioritize the safety of employees at work, providing health and safety training, having systems in place to identify and deal with hazards, ensuring employees can easily voice any safety concerns, among others. Moreover, the interviews further revealed that the perception of participants on workplace safety involved having risk-free working conditions and zero psychological harassment, being free from hazardous substances, and having adequate security personnel on site. Furthermore, the study identified several barriers to implementing HS-OHS policy in Pantang hospital, including poor awareness/knowledge among health workers, inadequate resources, appropriate vision and strategies among managers, and financial constraints. Respondents also identified lack of education, availability of funds, motivation to training, and documentation as key barriers. Finally, the study found out that enablers to the implementation of HS-OHS policy included leadership support, availability of resources, good communication, healthy working culture, organizational readiness, educating and training staff, management willingness to ensure safety, and providing logistics to staff. The HS-OHS policy was reported to have both positive and negative impacts on employees in the hospital. Conclusion: In conclusion, the implementation of an occupational health and safety policy is crucial for providing a safe work environment for healthcare workers at the Pantang Hospital in Accra, Ghana. However, lack of education and training, availability of funds, and low level of awareness of the policy among healthcare workers are significant barriers that must be addressed for successful implementation.