The pandemic has also highlighted the extent to which protecting health workers is key to ensuring a functioning health system and a functioning society.

Mounting reports of infections, illness and attacks among health workers fighting COVID-19

COVID-19 has exposed health workers and their families to unprecedented levels of risk. Although not representative, data from many countries across WHO regions indicate that COVID-19 infections among health workers are far greater than those in the general population.

While health workers represent less than 3% of the population in the large majority of countries and less than 2% in almost all low- and middle-income countries, around 14% of COVID-19 cases reported to WHO are among health workers. In some countries, the proportion can be as high as 35%.  However, data availability and quality are limited, and it is not possible to establish whether health workers were infected in the work place or in community settings. Thousands of health workers infected with COVID-19 have lost their lives worldwide.

5 steps to improve health worker safety and patient safety

On World Patient Safety Day, WHO reminds governments that they have a legal and moral responsibility to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of health workers. The Organization’s health worker charter  calls on all Member States and relevant stakeholders to take steps to:

Establish synergies between health worker safety and patient safety policies and strategies:

• Develop linkages between occupational health and safety, patient safety, quality improvement, and infection prevention and control programmes.
• Include health and safety skills in personal and patient safety into education and training programmes for health workers at all levels.
• Incorporate requirements for health worker and patient safety in health care licensing and accreditation standards.
• Integrate staff safety and patient safety incident reporting and learning systems.
• Develop integrated metrics of patient safety, health worker safety and quality of care indicators, and integrate with health information system.  

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Sophia

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Journal of Health Policy & Management.
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