Opening Address by Mr Vincent Phang at the Launch of CoP for WSH Officers in Healthcare
17 Oct 2024 Speeches
OPENING ADDRESS BY MR VINCENT PHANG,
DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF THE WORKPLACE SAFETY & HEALTH COUNCIL,
AT THE LAUNCH OF COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE FOR WSH OFFICERS IN HEALTHCARE
16 OCTOBER , 10 AM AT SINGAPORE GENERAL HOSPITAL
Associate Professor Phua Ghee Chee, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Singapore General Hospital (Hospital Experience),
Dr Eugene Fidelis Soh, Chairman, WSH Council (Healthcare) Committee,
Colleagues from the Healthcare Industry,
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am glad to join you at the inaugural Community of Practice (CoP) for Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Officers in Healthcare.
2. The healthcare industry pledged for Vision Zero in 2023, which is a conviction that all injuries and ill-health at work are preventable. Today’s CoP demonstrates industry-led action towards Vision Zero, uplifting the industry’s WSH by uniting those involved in WSH management in the healthcare industry to collaborate and cross-share best practices.
WSH Performance
3. I’ll touch a bit on the statistics. Last year, Singapore’s good WSH performance puts us among countries with the lowest workplace fatality rates around the world. I am heartened that we have successfully maintained our WSH performance for the first half of this year, with an annualised workplace fatality rate of 1.0 per 100,000 workers.
4. Today we speak as a healthcare community. It’s not a high-risk industry compared with transport, manufacturing, and construction, but as Boon Leng mentioned, there are also risks involved for everyone working in the healthcare environment. The industry has done remarkably well and kept a clean slate, holding a zero-fatality record over the last few years. This is commendable. Including nursing homes and personal care services, the number of major injuries within the industry had also gone down, from 15 in 2022 to 11 in 2023. However, minor injuries remained a key concern, climbing steadily in recent years, exceeding 2,000 reported injuries last year. I have utmost respect for healthcare professionals like yourselves who work tirelessly around the clock to keep others safe and healthy. I urge you to also keep up efforts to ensure that you and your colleagues go home safe and healthy to your loved ones.
WSH CoP for WSH Officers in Healthcare
5. It is thus timely that the WSH Council (Healthcare) Committee initiates the formation of the industry’s CoP. In addition, I extend my appreciation to SGH for hosting this inaugural session in conjunction with your annual Health, Safety, and Well-being Fair. It is indeed an apt arrangement underscoring the importance of collaboration and cross-learning.
6. Beyond exploring best WSH practices together to enhance the industry’s WSH knowledge and capabilities, members of the CoP can also use this platform to share experiences and ideas as well as encourage one another, in our continuous journey to ensure workplaces remain safe and healthy. The CoP also serves as a platform for members to obtain useful WSH tools and resources. I encourage members to share these with your colleagues and networks.
7. I am glad to see close to 60 participants in today’s inaugural session. The CoP is open to anyone involved in managing WSH matters, I encourage those of you here to urge suitable colleagues to join future sessions, and collectively expand the industry’s CoP.
Project Empowerment
8. Today’s programme will feature a special group of people - the winners and participants of Project Empowerment. Many healthcare institutions have been putting Vision Zero into action. Through a poster creation contest, the WSH Council (Healthcare) Committee engaged the industry to showcase initiatives which fostered WSH ownership among their staff and empowered them to embrace WSH. I look forward to celebrating the top entries and hearing about their initiatives later.
Preventing STFs
9. I’ll speak a bit about preventing Slips, Trips, and Falls, or STFs in short. This remained the top cause for both major and minor injuries in the industry, and I am heartened to hear that the WSH Council (Healthcare) Committee has not let up on their efforts to prevent STFs. Let me share some updates.
10. The Committee formed a project team in May to explore design solutions to reduce STFs in healthcare settings. The group conducted ground observations and interviews to understand STF scenarios and gathered to brainstorm preventive solutions at a workshop in June. The project team, together with the Committee, is now reviewing the various suggested solutions and assessing which ones are feasible and effective. The WSH Council will share the consolidated findings with the industry at a later date, so do keep a look out for them.
11. The Committee has also recently developed a STF Awareness Kit for the industry, comprising a poster on preventing slips in toilets, a common area where slips occur, as well as an eDM and gifs on STF prevention for institutions to disseminate to staff. Please download these resources from the WSH Council’s website and share them with your management and colleagues.
12. I would like to put on record my thanks to Dr Eugene Soh, Chairman of the WSH Council (Healthcare) Industry Committee, for leading the Committee to roll out these initiatives.
Conclusion
13. The pace of work continues to be unrelenting in the healthcare industry, and I am heartened that all of you made time to gather here today. I urge everyone to participate actively in the CoP, foster new friendships, learn from one another, and take the learnings back to your colleagues.
14. Thank you, and I wish you a fruitful session ahead.