Page 39 - npqh NATIONAL POLICY FOR QUALITY IN HEALTHCARE : Bridging Silos, Accelerating Improvements 2022-2026

National Policy for Quality in Healthcare
Bridging Silos, Accelerating Improvements

COVID-19 Mortality Surveillance and Mortality Improvement in Clinical Care
Review
Year Introduced: 2020
» National COVID-19 Mortality Surveillance and Review have been conducted since the

pandemic started in March 2020.
» COVID-19 mortality cases can be divided into two categories – “Inpatient death” and

“Brought in dead”. The main objectives are to monitor magnitude and trend of death
as well as factors contributed to COVID-19 death in Malaysia. Hence improvement in
terms of clinical management and preventive aspect can be instituted.
» Clinical Audit Unit, Medical Care Quality Section, Medical Development Division,

MoH is the Technical Secretariat at Ministry level which work closely with clinicians,
Public Health Programme, State Health Department and District Health Office to
collect reliable data in timely manner.

b) Reducing Harm

Occupational Health Services Reducing Harm
Year Introduced: 1994

» Occupational health activities were initiated under the Workers Environmental

and Health Unit which was developed in MOH following the gazettement of the
Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994, which eventually progressed to become the
Occupational and Environmental Health Sector under the Disease Control Division,
Ministry of Health. Later in 2007, Occupational Safety and Health Unit was also
established in Medical Development Division, MOH to focus on occupational safety
and health aspect in MoH hospitals.
» Occupational health activities carried out for MOH include notification of occupational
injuries and diseases, Sharps Injuries Surveillance Program, Tuberculosis (TB)
Screening Program, Hepatitis B Immunisation Program, Investigations as well as
Safety and Health Audits
» In MOH hospitals, additional programmes are established such as – risk management,
emergency and disaster preparedness, chemical management in hospital, prevention
of violence at workplace, COVID-19 prevention among health care workers and
strengthening of Safety and Health Committee.
» As per requirements of the law, a Safety and Health Committee has been established
in facilities with forty or more employees which carry out the occupational activities
in the various facilities together with the Occupational Health Units where they exist.
» Achievements over the past 5 years include a reduction in the incidence rate of sharps
injuries among the healthcare workers from 8.1/1000 healthcare workers in 2016
to 6.2/1000 healthcare workers in 2020 as well as a reduction in the incidence rate
of TB among healthcare workers from 87.7/100,000 healthcare workers in 2016 to
65.6/100,000 healthcare workers in 2020.
» The sector works closely with the Department of Occupational Safety and Health
(DOSH) and the Social Security Organization (SOCSO)under the Ministry of Human
Resources as well also provides occupational health technical support to all other
stakeholders and agencies.
» The sector is also actively involved in the workplace management of outbreaks and
was integral in the development of all workplace Safety Operating Procedures (SOP’s)
for the various industries in the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

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