5th April 2020; Ras Al Khaimah, UAE:  The recent initiative by RAK Hospital is helping thousands of employees stay safe as the hospital conducts Hygiene Audits for several Ras Al Khaimah-based companies. These audits are highly effective in preventing the spread of Covid-19 as suggested protocols help break the surface contact chain. 

 

“We understand that there are several organizations and workplaces such as manufacturing or production facilities among others where employees are not in a position to work from home. For such companies it becomes absolutely necessary to maintain safe, secure and sanitized workplaces which can ensure highest hygiene standards,” commented Dr Raza Siddiqui, Executive Director of the RAK Hospital.

 

Contact with an infected surface is a big concern in the case of Covid-19 and one of the biggest aims of the RAK Hospital Hygiene Audit team is to ensure that organizations’ Disinfection Program is in place to break the infection chain. Therefore, following a thorough assessment of the workplace cleanliness, housekeeping practices as well as personal hygiene facilities, the 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 organization 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,” further elaborates Dr Siddiqui.

 

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 sanitizers at appropriate places, soaps, washroom sanitization, telephones, cabinets peripherals, etc.

 

“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 any kind of infection. Hence, we recommend no pantry service and regular sanitization of desktops, mobile phones and personal equipments on specific intervals and have advised employers to buy medical disinfectant and specific wipes for this purpose,” added Dr Siddiqui.

 

Other recommendations from 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. All the measures are put in place to minimize the chances of cross contamination. Moreover, it also recommends 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.