Combating Covid-19: RAK Hospital conducts hygiene audit of firms to ensure workers' safety

Ras Al Khaimah - These audits are highly effective in preventing the spread of coronavirus.

As the country combats Covid-19, the RAK Hospital has conducted hygiene audits for several Ras Al Khaimah-based companies.
These audits are highly effective in preventing the spread of coronavirus as the suggested protocols help break the surface contact chain, pointed out Dr Raza Siddiqui, executive director of the RAK Hospital.
"As thousands of employees are not in a position to work from home in several companies, it has become absolutely necessary to maintain safe, secure and sanitised workplaces which can ensure the highest hygiene standards."
Contact with an infected surface is a big concern in the case of Covid-19 and one of the biggest aims of the audit drive is to make sure that organisations' disinfection programme is in place to break the infection chain, he added.
"Following a thorough assessment of the workplace cleanliness, housekeeping practices as well as personal hygiene facilities, our team provides a detailed report along with the recommendations on office hygienic standards and disinfection practices which must be adopted in the current situation."
Our team collects environmental swabs from various areas within the organisation as well as drinking water sample which are then processed in the lab to see effectiveness of the cleaning process and chemicals used and the recommendations are provided accordingly, Dr Siddiqui explained.
"The hygiene audit checklist is very exhaustive and looks at many areas within the workplace, including the passageways, floors, doorways, exit routes, work desks, electrical outlets, washroom cleanliness protocols, pest control measures, installation of sanitisers at appropriate places, soaps, washroom sanitisation, telephones, cabinets peripherals, and so on."
"Our audits have identified the key problem areas within companies which largely include the employee desktops/laptops, pantry, washrooms and electrical outlets."
Usually, the desktops and telephones are not cleaned whereas pantry areas are likely to spread infections, he elaborated.
"Hence, we recommend no pantry service and regular sanitisation of desktops, mobile phones and personal equipment at specific intervals and have advised employers to buy medical disinfectants and specific wipes for this purpose."
Other recommendations by the audit team include bringing food from home, minimal use of paper as the transfer from one hand to another can spread infection and going completely digital instead, he underlined.
"It is also recommended that the housekeeping staff must be trained on the proper usage of the chemicals, the dilution and the application. Further, monitoring the frequency of changing the mop head, push mops and dusters are necessary measures as well as disinfecting vending machines, surfaces and keeping a record of all these."
ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com