Kesihatan Pekerja dan Alam Sekitar in Kota Star DHO

Date: 04 Jan 2009

Group A

DHO: Kota Star

Today Suvin and Vimal went to the Kesihatan Pekerja dan Alam Sekitar(KPAS). We met 2 people working here they are SN Shima and the Penolong Pegawai Kesihatan Persekitaran(PPKP) Hasbulah.

In our discussion we asked them on their duties. Some of their duties include taking reports of occupational health problems which occur. Examples given were Tuberculosis among health care workers, accidents in work and needle stick injury. They mention that doctors should make a report whenever such occupational hazards occur. The form that they have to fill is called WEHU. These forms were distributed to the Klinik kesihatan(KK) but have to be collected at the DHO. Different forms are filled for different diseases

A - Accident

D - Poisoning

E - Hearing

S - Skin

L – Lung diseases

Upon receiving a report from the doctor, the KPAS staff would proceed to meet the patient to take history and asses the safety measures at the work place. They then prepare 3 reports which are sent to the Ministry of Health (MOH), Jabatan Kesihatan Negeri(JKN) and 1 more is to be filed at the DHO. In these reports the present safety steps and recommended safety steps which are needed are mentioned. A certain period of time is given to the employer to make necessary changes to make the workplace safer, and then another inspection is conducted to asses for improvement.

Other responsibilities of KPAS is to conduct a Jawatankuasa Kesihatan Perkerja) JKKP meeting. The function of this meeting is to identify the problems faced by various KK to maintain proper levels of occupation safety. The meeting is attended by the DHO officer I, DHO officer II, KPAS staff and a representative from each KK. Before attending this meeting each KK is supposed to have a similar meeting at the KK level. The minutes of the meetings are done by SN Shima.

Another important duty of the KPAS is to conduct audits among the various KK and Klinik Desa(KD). The audits purpose is to asses the safety level in the various KK and KD. To conduct and audit one staff from KPAS and another external staff goes to the particular KK or KD to asses the work condition. Various factors are assessed in the audit mostly regarding occupational health. At the end of the year prizes were given to the top 3 KK and top 3 KD.

KPAS is also in charge of the protective gear which is worn by certain medical personal. These mainly include personal protective equipment (PPE) and N95 mask. These equipment are kept in the store and provided to the department whom need them – medical staff handling with tuberculosis patients and vector unit personal involved in fogging.

Finally one activity which Vimal and I joined today was influenza immunization. The immunization is provided to all medical staff. It is given every year. SN Shima, Vimal and I went to the Jabatabn Kesihatan Negeri to immunize the staff there. The dose given was 0.5mL. A total of 17 people were immunized.

Vimal and I would like to express our gratitude to SN Shima and PPKP Hasbulah for their assistance.