Building a 'green' Nghe An General Friendship Hospital, aiming for patient satisfaction

Ensuring a “Green – Clean – Beautiful” environment

Responding to the Clean Up the World Campaign 2020 with the theme "Acting together to change the world" from September 21 to September 30, 2020, on the afternoon of September 22, the Youth UnionNghe An General Friendship Hospitalorganized environmental sanitation and tree care in the hospital campus with the participation of hundreds of union members and youth from 38 branches of the entire hospital. At the Campaign response, the union members and youth cleaned up the common campus of the hospital; arranged waiting seats for patients; took care of trees; cleaned the landscape and environment in the campus of the department/room/center.

The Youth Union of Nghe An General Hospital organized environmental sanitation and tree care in the hospital campus. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Responding to the Campaign to Make the World Cleaner is just one of many activities to ensure the hospital environment that the Youth Union has organized. Over the years, under the direction of the Party Committee and the Board of Directors of Nghe An General Hospital, the Hospital Youth Union has always paid attention to and regularly organized environmental sanitation programs, typically "Green Sunday" on weekends and months. Such programs have contributed to improving the quality of medical services and public health towards patient satisfaction, while raising awareness of maintaining hygiene and environmental landscape of medical staff, patients and their families.

Master Nguyen Vo Dung, Secretary of the Youth Union of Nghe An General Hospital, shared: The movement to build a "Green - Clean - Beautiful" hospital has been launched by the Party Committee and the Board of Directors of the Hospital and has been put into concrete and quality operation for many years. Clearly identifying that the implementation of the movement will enhance the role and position of the Youth Union in gathering forces, promoting the spirit of volunteerism, contributing to protecting the landscape and environment, the Youth Union has strongly participated.

Each branch also has projects for planting and taking care of trees, building landscapes, and maintaining departmental hygiene... Photo: Thanh Cuong

In addition to environmental sanitation and tree care programs, the hospital's Youth Union has built a youth project, a bougainvillea garden worth over 25 million VND, creating a landscape in the campus. In 38 branches, each branch also has projects for planting and caring for trees, building miniature landscapes, maintaining hygiene in departments... To be more "Green - Clean - Beautiful", currently, the Youth Union has been actively participating in the hospital's "5S" movement; promoting propaganda work, mobilizing patients and their families to join hands in building and protecting the hospital environment.

Mr. Nguyen Van Dung (74 years old, in Nam Dan town), a chronic lung patient who has been treated many times at the Provincial General Hospital, commented: “The hospital environment has been getting better and better. In the patient rooms, the hospital bought and placed more green trees and bonsai in the patient rooms and along the corridors. Many areas in the hospital are like parks, the air is fresh, creating a feeling of relaxation and comfort. The hospital environment seems to help us receive better treatment and recover sooner. Seeing the doctors and nurses trying to protect the environment, patients and their families are also more aware of maintaining public hygiene.”

Good management of infection control procedures

Determining that building a “Green – Clean – Beautiful” medical facility environment is a very practical thing to do, contributing to reducing the risk of infection in hospitals and creating a clean environment to help patients recover their health, reducing stress for patients and medical staff. Throughout the journey of carrying out the mission of taking care of people’s health, in addition to improvingquality of examination and treatment, Nghe An General Hospital always focuses on investing in landscape renovation, renovating flower and ornamental garden, planting more green trees in the campus, aiming at patient satisfaction... Currently, not only the Youth Union but also all political and social organizations and departments/offices in the hospital are striving to make the hospital environment better and better.

Medical staff also take care of the green campus and clean the environment in the department area. Photo: Thanh Cuong

On the afternoon of September 22, many other departments/offices/centers joined the campaign to make the world cleaner with the Youth Union. At the Infection Control Department, medical staff and workers also took care of the green campus and cleaned the environment of the department with an enthusiastic and cheerful spirit. Acting Head Nurse Nguyen Thi Ngoc shared: "We are doing our own housework"!

Ms. Ngoc explained: To have a “Green - Clean - Beautiful” hospital, it requires not only the efforts of the unit leader but also the consensus of the staff, employees and the patients themselves. In this model, every factor is important, but the “Clean” factor needs to be put first. More than anyone else, the Department staff are fully aware of this factor and our daily task is to ensure that factor.

Infection control plays an extremely important role in the health care system for patients. If infection control activities are not good, it will lead to many risks of cross-infection in hospitals, hospital infections... leaving serious consequences. Therefore, infection control work needs to be given special attention to ensure the safety of patients and medical staff.

In recent times, Nghe An General Hospital has always paid special attention to infection control by regularly cleaning hospital beds, patient rooms, and changing inpatients' clothes regularly; creating a sense of security and trust for patients coming for treatment. Handling medical equipment, linen systems, managing medical waste, ensuring epidemic prevention... Each part of the work has its own processing procedure, requiring strict compliance to ensure that all tools and objects are disinfected and sterilized.

Based on their work positions, each person is determined to be “cleaner, more beautiful and more productive” in accordance with the spirit of the “5S” model that the hospital is promoting. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Nghe An General Hospital is a provincial level hospital with a large number of patients. Therefore, the infection control work is also very large, no less difficult and heavy. For example, the department's linen processing department needs to collect, wash, chemically treat, steam, iron, and stack over 2 tons of clothes every day. However, all staff members of the department are always aware of their responsibilities and try to complete their tasks at the highest level. Although there is a lot of infection control work, all work in the department always takes place smoothly, efficiently, and with high safety assurance. Each person, based on their work position, is determined to be "cleaner, more beautiful, and more productive" in accordance with the spirit of the "5S" model that the hospital is promoting. - Acting Head Nurse Nguyen Thi Ngoc affirmed.

Improve quality with the “5S” model

The “5S” model that Nghe An General Hospital is promoting is a comprehensive, versatile, streamlined but effective management model and this is an important criterion in the set of 83 criteria issued by the Ministry of Health. The model was introduced by Toyota Corporation Japan, applied in the manufacturing industry and gradually became a popular application model globally, applied in many industries and fields, including healthcare.

Master, Doctor Le Dinh Sang, Deputy Head of Quality Management Department, Nghe An General Hospital. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Master, Doctor Le Dinh Sang, Deputy Head of Quality Management Department, Nghe An General Hospital, said about the "5S" model applied at the unit: In the hospital, the 5S model includes the steps of screening, arranging, cleaning, caring and being ready. Screening means removing all unnecessary excess items in the working environment, keeping only the items that are just enough for use. Arranging is ensuring that all objects in the department, hospital room are neat, tidy, convenient, ensuring aesthetics, ensuring safety for patients and medical staff. Cleanliness is ensuring the hygiene of all surfaces and instruments after being arranged; ensuring sterility, especially surgical instruments. Care is that all 5S regulations are developed, trained, assigned to each specific person and these regulations must be implemented regularly and continuously. Readiness is that all employees must comply with regulations, make 5S become self-awareness, habit and apply it to daily work.

After implementing 5S, the departments have changed to be more neat and clean; focusing on planting and taking care of trees, creating a fresh, clean, and safe environment for medical staff as well as patients. Photo: Thanh Cuong

The “5S” model has been officially applied by Nghe An General Hospital since 2015 with the development of processes, regulations for regular screening steps and training. Step by step, departments/offices/centers, medical staff and employees clearly realize the benefits of the “5S” model, which are ensuring the health of employees; ease, convenience, and time saving in the working process; creating an open working spirit and atmosphere; improving the quality of life; improving productivity... The “5S” model has become the driving force for the development of departments/offices. After implementing 5S, departments and offices have changed to be more neat and clean; focusing on planting and caring for trees, creating a fresh, clean, and safe environment for medical staff as well as patients.

The “5S” model has gradually become a standard, competition criteria, and scoring criteria in departments/offices/centers in the hospital, creating a competition movement in each department/office/center and the entire hospital. The hospital has also issued guidelines, regulations on implementing 5S, scorecards, and checklists. Since May 2020, the hospital has organized inspection and scoring delegations every day. In the near future, the hospital will organize more competitions, 5S weeks, and actively promote to create a more widespread and stronger impact in improving hospital quality.

5S model patient room at Provincial General Hospital. Photo by Thanh Cuong

Considering quality improvement as a core issue of medical examination and treatment, in the coming time, Nghe An General Hospital will resolutely implement the "5S" model to continue to reduce waiting time for patients, shorten the time to perform procedures; limit mistakes and errors; avoid wasting medical supplies; better control incidents, ensure safety, and increase patient satisfaction./.