ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 01st Sep, 2020) As public health restrictions ease, Mubadala Healthcare is introducing an innovative offering of occupational health and testing services designed to enable organisations to return their employees back-to-work in the safest way possible.
Mubadala Healthcare’s National Reference Laboratory, NRL, Capital Health Screening Centre, CHSC, Healthpoint and Amana Healthcare, together created the programme leveraging their expertise in pathology, occupational health, and corporate sample-collection, respectively.
Hasan Jasem Al Nowais, Senior Vice President at Mubadala Healthcare, said, "National Reference Laboratory, Capital Health Screening Centre, Healthpoint and Amana Healthcare were proactive from the start of the pandemic, putting systems in place to ensure they would be able to support the nation and economy in its immediate needs, but also to plan for continued support and long-term solutions, which we are now activating."
The occupational health package was designed to support all private and government employers in their return-to-work programme, by providing best-in-class and evidence-based occupational health and testing solutions to ensure a safe workplace. Various modules of the package have already been rolled out by a number of employers, including Mubadala’s global and local entities and units.
According to Dr. Mariam Al Maazmi, Senior Supervisor of Occupational Health at Emirates Global Aluminium, EGA, one of the first companies to use the Mubadala Healthcare’s occupational health services, the process was key to the nature of its operations. "Mubadala Healthcare, through its National Reference Laboratory and Amana Healthcare, is one of the organisations that has supported EGA since April as part of our extensive COVID-19 testing programme for employees and contractors working on our sites in the UAE.
"As a vital industrial company that has continued operations throughout the pandemic, fast and accurate testing of our thousands of people has been the cornerstone of our COVID-19 response. It has enabled us to take action to prevent further spread when we have had cases, and has guided our broader prevention strategy. In more recent months, testing has also been key in bringing many of those who have been working at home back to EGA offices," she added.
The package is comprehensive and modular; it can be customised to meet the needs of all entities striving for a safe, successful and sustainable return to the workplace.
For each employer, the Mubadala Healthcare team sets up easy-to-use online questionnaires for ongoing health monitoring and screening before entry to the workplace. Employees reporting symptoms or exposure are contacted by the Occupational Health team for a clinical consultation over the phone to assess their needs.
Employees are advised on appropriate quarantine or isolation timeline, undergo all required testing, and receive regular follow-up teleconsultations with the clinical team until they are cleared for a safe return to the workplace.
Additionally, the Occupational Health team can make an initial assessment of all employees for vulnerability, provide specialist consultations and advise organisations on improvements to their workplace with employee health needs in mind. The team also implements automated dashboards to allow organisations to efficiently track and monitor the status of the workforce.
As part of the Occupational Health package, CHSC is creating a specialised programme for mitigating the risks that employees may face, supported by its extensive experience in occupational health screening and training. The programme tackles return-to-work concerns such as initial assessment and ongoing monitoring of workforce, travel-related assessments, pre-clearance of visitors and COVID-19 training for employees.
The training is provided live by a specialised occupational medicine physician and expert clinical staff, and can be tailored to select employees, such as health and wellness ambassadors, security and reception staff, or to the entire workforce, depending on the needs of each organisation.
In parallel, NRL’s world-class and purpose-built COVID-19 laboratories have the advanced equipment and a highly skilled scientific team that allow it to process results accurately within quick turnaround time. NRL’s team of experts are able to advise employers on what testing strategies would suit their needs and budget best. Testing and sample collection are managed by both the Healthpoint team, through their drive-through facility, and Amana Healthcare through their home care services.
