SAFETY AND SECURITY OF

PATIENTS IN MEDICAL
PRACTICE DURING
PANDEMIC
Safe Places, Trusted Care
During this global COVID-19 pandemic, our commitment to give patients a
safe, reliable place to receive care.
Reopening Our Clinics and Services
During the height of the pandemic in Bangladesh, some of our clinics
temporarily paused service or scaled back to in-person appointments.
How We’re Keeping Patients Safe During the COVID-19
Recovery
1. Providing virtual visits
2. Determining which services to resume
3. Resuming in-person visits
• Proper plans and guidance for re-opening
• Being prepared to shut down if circumstances warrant
• Patient communication
• COVID-19 screening
• Safety measures
Providing virtual visits
Determining which services to resume

• Prioritizing urgent care and community needs

• Assess clinic capacity
• Follow guideline of local health office
Resuming in-person visits

Before rushing into any decision admin or respective department should answer
the following questions
• Is the patient visit urgent/crucial to the patient's health?
• Could further delay in provision of the care result in a worse outcome for the
patient?
• Will offering care in a community setting lessen the burden on hospital
facilities, or prevent the need to access acute care in the future?
• Are there other community services developed to address medical needs
that patients can be referred to? (e.g., municipal or regional child
immunization clinics, COVID care clinics)
• Can you mitigate any risk and keep you and your staff safe? (Do you have
adequate PPE? Are there protective measures in place for the patients? Is
there a sick-leave policy in place for staff?)
Plans and guidance for re-opening

• Guideline from public health

• Re-opening by area-wise or prevalence wise

Being prepared to shut down if circumstances warrant

•Consider preserving Health Human Resources (HHR) capacity where

possible as part of planning for future surges/outbreaks
•Inventory your supply/stock of PPE, and identify sources for urgent
services and potential future surges
•Continue to provide virtual care to patients, which will make transitioning
back to a predominantly virtual care model easier if circumstances warrant
Patient communication

During the period of re-opening practices, many patients will be hesitant to

return to an office space. They need to hear that their care providers are still
available to care for them and provide support, whether via phone, video or in-
person with safety precautions in place. Communicating with patients prior to
expanding in-person care will help them feel informed, safe and will help them
prepare for their in-office visits.

Communication tools:
 Phone
 Email
 Social Media
 Text
COVID-19 Screening

All physicians' offices/clinics should continue to screen patients for COVID-19.

• Patients experiencing severe difficulty breathing, severe chest pain or losing

consciousness should call 333 or head to the local emergency department.
• Patients with COVID-19 symptoms should be directed to local COVID
assessment centres or offered a virtual visit, to be assessed and to determine
the need for further treatment/testing.
• Only those patients that pass the screen should come in for an in-person
appointment.
Safety measures for in-person visits

• Administrative and operational controls

• Environmental cleaning
• Visits with symptomatic patients
Administrative and operational controls
•Ensure stuff training
•Provide logistic support
•Regular monitoring
•Emphasis on feedback from stuffs and patients and adjust the whole
process accordingly
 Environmental cleaning and disinfection
Cleaning: the physical removal of visible soiling (e.g., dust, soil, blood,
mucus). Cleaning removes, rather than kills, viruses and bacteria. It is done
with water, detergents, and steady friction from cleaning cloth.

Disinfection: the killing of viruses and bacteria. A disinfectant is only applied

to objects; never on the human body.
Guideline from British Columbia, Canada
Visits with symptomatic patients
• PPE and other protective measures
• Infection control measures
Global Patient Safety Collaborative
WHO and the UK Government enter into new strategic collaboration towards
establishment of the Global Patient Safety Collaborative

• Leadership to prioritize patient safety, promote patient safety culture and

engage patients and families.

• Education and Training to build competent, skilled and compassionate health

workforce through inter-professional education and training in patient safety.

• Research to enhance research capacities and evidence-based policy processes

in patient safety.
Resources:

 https://www.cma.ca/re-opening-your-practice-during-covid-19#jump-
5

 http://www.bccdc.ca/Health-Professionals-Site/Documents/COVID-19
_MOH_BCCDC_EnvironmentalCleaning.pdf

 https://www.who.int/patientsafety/partnerships/GPS-collaborative/en
/