NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORY

SAFETY

Safety is an integral component of the quality assurance cycle and therefore borne in mind when laboratory workers in all sections engage in activities in the pre-analytical, analytical and post-analytical phases of laboratory testing.

Occupational exposure is a major health problem facing healthcare workers in developed and developing countries

The purpose of Safety section of the NPHL is to provide policies and procedures for the safe handling of infectious agents and potentially hazardous materials in order to protect laboratory workers, the workplace and surrounding environment from harm.

NPHL is committed to continual improvement of laboratory Biosafety and Biosecurity (Bio risk) processes and services to achieve the ongoing safety of laboratory staff, clients, visitors and the environment.

It is therefore our policy to:

• Protect staff, contractors, visitors, community and the environment from biological agents and toxins that are stored or handled within NPHL;
• Reduce the risk of unintentional release, or exposure to biological agents and toxins;
• Reduce the risk to an acceptable level of hazardous biological materials, including the need to conduct risk assessments and implement the required control measures;
• Complying with all national and international legal requirements applicable to the biological agents and toxins that will be handled or possessed at NPHL;
• Continually improve Biorisk management performance of NPHL staff through effective training and implementation of safety procedures in their work;
• Consistently comply with ISO 15190 to ensure that all employees are committed to implementing and monitoring an effective Biorisk management system.
• Effectively informing and communicating to all employees and relevant third parties of their individual obligations with regard to Biorisk to those groups;

NPHL is therefore committed to provide to its employees, equipment, and the surrounding environment a safe workplace free from, occupational exposure and other biological and chemical hazards and to provide fire prevention training, and guidance in development and maintenance of safe work practices. These policies are designed for the protection of all employees and visitors who visits the laboratory and are enforced at all times.

NPHL being a National reference laboratory is engaged with variety of microorganisms (Bacteria, Fungi, Protozoa and Viruses) with different pathogenicity from highly pathogenic to low pathogenic.

NPHL- management is dedicated to ensure proper implementation through provision of Hepatitis B vaccine, increased support and training of all staff on safety policies, guidelines and procedures, likewise, the combined efforts of every member of staff ultimately results in the prevention of incidents of occupational exposure and accidents.

NPHL- safety plan concentrates on the path of workflow to ensure that safety related requirements are met in order to create a safe working environment. The plan takes the approach of performing risk assessment of the various tasks and assay involved in the path of work flow and risks to the environment in order to eliminate the hazards where possible.