The back-end team is another important department that supports Thammasat University Hospital to cope with this COVID crisis.
In the previous episode, the admin took everyone to see the work of medical personnel, whether it was ICU doctors, vaccination centers, nurses, lab teams, obstetrics and gynecology teams, or even hospice centers for terminally ill patients. Next, we will get to know and understand the work behind the scenes, which is just as hard as the frontline team. Moreover, it is a backline team that has to work alongside the frontline team to meet patients.
From the interview with Ms. Namfon Choijit , Head of Facilities, Thammasat University Hospital, she took us to see the perspective of the support team in fighting the COVID-19 crisis to understand more. Because fighting this crisis does not only include the medical team, but also the support team behind the scenes from the facilities work.
“Initially, before this crisis happened, the building construction was already difficult.”
Building work is a job that must allocate, divide areas and maintain cleanliness as the main principle. For hospitals, almost every area is a public area, meaning that there are people coming and going to use it, and there are many people from different places. It is used almost 24 hours a day, so cleanliness must be well controlled.
Importantly, all areas must be taken care of according to standards. When the COVID-19 crisis occurs, cleanliness and safety related to the building must be raised to a higher level, such as the OPD, which must receive patients at all times. Chairs and tables used to receive patients and relatives who come to wait, including escalators and elevators, must be taken care of according to the central standards that all hospitals must have without fail.
“It is inevitable that patients will spread the virus in hospitals.”
Hospitals are places where illnesses are treated. Therefore, it is impossible to avoid germs or spread germs. The hospital has a team of housekeepers who have been trained to know how to handle germs so that all patients and staff are safe from germs and do not spread germs to each other while in the hospital.
“The best public toilets in government hospitals in the country”
This is another unexpected thing. If you step into Thammasat University Hospital, you will definitely see this sentence in front of the bathroom. One of the prides and cares of the hospital is that the public bathrooms in the hospital are really clean. The starting point is the realization that the hospital should have clean and sanitary bathrooms. Thammasat University Hospital therefore places great importance on this. The bathrooms have air conditioning and there are always cleaning shifts. The smell is pleasant and there is no smell of waste at all.
“Training to ensure everyone works safely, both service providers and service recipients.”
Every part of the building work, whether it is housekeepers, security guards, workers or garbage disposal staff, everyone has undergone training to make everyone work efficiently, not only for the safety of patients who come to receive services, but also for all personnel themselves.
For example, the housekeeping team has all been trained in cleaning, wearing PPE to clean areas with COVID-19, and using different types of cleaning agents to clean different areas.
Security team Because they are the first line of defense to meet patients who come to use the service, they must be trained in screening, temperature measurement, speaking to customers to wash their hands with alcohol gel provided, and also taking care of themselves to prevent infection from customers.
Waste disposal staff are trained in waste collection, both contaminated waste and infectious waste from different wards. Therefore, waste from each ward will have different management methods, including waste transportation from one point to another.
“Recyclable waste sorting project”
Khun Namfon said that this project is a collaboration project with Thammasat University students to separate food waste, such as plastic packaging used to wrap food, water bottles, drinking glasses, various cans of water that can be reused, including turning food scraps from the cafeteria into fertilizer. She thinks that this project will definitely be very useful in the future because in addition to people throwing away their waste properly, it also adds value to every piece of waste.
“Using trees to heal patients”
When receiving treatment at the hospital, patients may feel depressed from their illness or the treatment they have already received. Therefore, the hospital sees that bringing in trees to decorate the hospital to create a pleasant green color is another way to help soothe the patients’ minds. There will be a garden in front of the hospital, a sky garden, and decorative trees in various places in the hospital. Khun Namfon revealed that the trees in the hospital are grown and decorated by the hospital’s gardeners. They do not hire outsiders to come and do more gardening.
“We have to help them as best we can because they are already tired from their duties.”
Support teams such as facilities management are aware of the difficulties of personnel on the medical side. Everyone is already exhausted. Therefore, they do not want anyone to worry about the environment and readiness of the various locations. They do everything that facilities management can do to facilitate and reduce the burden on the medical team because they want to help support and hope that everyone who is fighting will be less tired.
“Everyone is a medical professional.”
Ms. Namfon said that everyone is treated equally. Everyone receives safety and care, whether it is doctors, nurses, assistants, security guards or housekeepers. The hospital provides full support in terms of PPE kits, face masks or masks to prevent germs. They can be used as needed. Everyone just provides full service and keeps themselves safe.
Conclusion
Once again, it must be said that the duties we do not see do not mean they do not exist. Or the duties we see but overlook may be duties that are greater than we can imagine. All personnel, no matter what their duties are, have the courage to step in as the frontline in fighting the COVID-19 crisis this time. Housekeepers, security guards, and garbage collectors are all at risk and are close to the virus, no different from doctors or nurses. In this situation, we encourage each other to be good, take good care of ourselves and those around us. We do not only work with physical energy, but mental energy is also important.
“Let’s give each other encouragement and get through this together.”
Follow the story behind the crisis and the actions of medical personnel at Thammasat University Hospital in dealing with the COVID situation in the program Unmask Story, stories behind the masks of medical personnel at Thammasat University Hospital.
The Backstage Team | Thammasat University Hospitalกียรติ
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