FV Hospital observed the Annual Fire and Occupational Safety Week from 16^th to 20^th of November 2020 with an array of training activities and various events involving the staff.

The program was inaugurated by ceremonial cake cutting by the Executives and Managers on the third floor. The objective of the events was

• Create awareness of fire and occupational health safety among the staff
• Promote the culture of fire safety in the hospital
• Provide training on fire safety to all staff
• Conduct the Annual Fire Safety Drill in the hospital

The participation of the staff in various training programs was excellent with more than 350 clinical and non-clinical staff joining the various sessions in spite of their very busy schedule and responsibility for direct patient care. Ms Phan Thi Thu Van (Head Nurse Medical East): “Fighting with a fire is as exciting as saving a patient’ life, when facing this situation, we may too anxious to act and follow procedure, so practicing in emergency response drills, especially on Fire Safety is very necessary”.

Multiple training sessions on various topics were arranged by the Environmental and Safety section of the Facility department, including Fire Safety in Hospital for all Staff by Members of Fire Police, Practical training for Hospital Fire Warden, Correct Choice and Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) by representative of 3M company, one of the most respected manufacturer of PPE internationally that covered healthcare environment and occupational health, choice of PPE, correct use of PPE and recommendations for storage and re-use of PPE. Ms Bui Thi Hoang Sa – (Clinical Instructor): “The information received from this professional company is very helpful and allows the staff to understand on how to choose the correct respiratory protection devices, especially on the “fit check” that was very good”.

Parallel to the training activities, there were a lot of competitions among department such as fire safety drill, dangerous situation handling and poster making competitions. The Organisers appreciate the efforts for the preparation and participation in activities from all of the departments. Through the competitions, departments have also voiced their own commitments and messages, that all aim to ensure safety at FV. In fact, fire safety is a year-long activity, not something to practice and show adherence for only one week. Therefore, the departments selected for the award “Best Fire Safety Compliance” have all performed well throughout the past year.

For the first time, this year with active collaboration from the members of the fire police a practical competition was carried out on fire warden skills. The excitement, participation and enthusiasm among a wide section of the staff from various departments were most noticeable and the ‘games’ were a great success. In addition to the Annual Fire Drill, 367 staff participated across departments and the hospital also carried out a number of Code Red and Code Yellow drills in various clinical departments for those who could not participate in the Annual Fire Drill.

The “Fire and Occupational Health Safety Week” was a huge success in the hospital and achieved the objectives set, actually going beyond with wholehearted participation by so many staff in the various programs.