Hemas Hospitals receives OHSAS 18001 certification

Achieving yet another milestone in its quest to deliver international quality healthcare, Hemas Hospitals in Wattala and Galle were recently awarded the certification in International Standard for Occupational Health and Safety (OHSAS 18001) becoming the first internationally accredited hospital chain in Sri Lanka on occupational health and safety management systems.

OHSAS 18001 is a multi-managerial standardization concerned with enhancing the safety, health and wellbeing of the patients as well as the hospital employees, third parties who are engaged with the hospital under various agreements, and the environment.

"Accreditation on occupational health and safety will foster a hygienic and accident free environment to all the stakeholders of the Hemas Hospital chain along with its neighbourhoods," Dr Samanthi de Silva, General Manager, Hemas Hospital said. "By achieving this standard, Hemas Hospital strengthens the safety of patient care delivery process and further ensures a safe, hazard free environment for its precious workforce."

OHSAS 18001 mainly focuses on occupational medicine, occupational hygiene, patient care delivery, diagnostics, radiation & chemical safety, surgical procedures, food hygiene, emergency readiness, critical waste management and work ergonomics of employees.

The accreditation process was conducted by Strategic Risk Solutions (Sri Lanka) and RKCA (India) and certified by BM TRADA Certification Limited of United Kingdom under the patronage of United Kingdom Accreditation Service - UKAS management system.

The management and staff of Hemas Hospital chain underwent a series of extensive training programs in order to increase awareness on occupational health and to uplift the work standards and work environment.

All staff members are now well taught and trained to handle a fire at work place. Fire teams have been appointed to ensure safety evacuation of all patients and others persons.

The emergency preparedness to handle an external disaster situation such as a road traffic accident, a bomb blast, or a tsunami has been put in place. In addition to this accredittaion, Hemas Hospitals also received international accreditation from the prestigious Australian Council on Healthcare Standards International (ACHSI) last year marking another milestone in healthcare industry in Sri Lanka by becoming the first hospital chain to achieve this status.

Hemas Hospitals is a subsidiary of Hemas Holdings, one of Sri Lanka's leading conglomerates with a focus on five key sectors - FMCG, Healthcare, Transportation, Leisure and Power Generation.