Occupational emergency plan for the Lebanese Red Cross’s blood transfusion sector

Abstract

The Lebanese Red Cross (LRC) is a local, not-for-profit, humanitarian aid non-governmental organization. It consists of 5 sectors, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Disaster Management (DM), Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Blood Transfusion Sector (BTS), and Medico Social Services (MSS). As any organization, the LRC faces yearly incidents of occupational injuries and emergencies from fires and power outages, to medical or first aid emergencies. The organization’s occupational health and safety efforts have been in disarray and divided. The BTS, one of the LRC sectors, which has 13 operating branches spread across Lebanon, has taken an initiative in piloting an emergency plan in one of its branches (Antelias Branch). This initiative was based on the absence of a document that compiles risks and hazards, evaluates them through the development of a risk assessment matrix, and compiles emergency plans as a response to every corresponding hazard found. The pilot will utilize tools and best practices found in literature relating to occupational emergency plans developed in similar settings and proximal regions. Upon the assessment of the site, the top 3 hazards identified with high probability and severity were power outages, fires, and medical or first aid emergencies. Emergency plans were developed for each hazard which included the equipment needed, responsible personnel, and stepwise procedures on what to do in case each emergency is triggered. Upon analysis and evaluation of the hazards at the worksite, recommendations were made for the sustainability of the project would be contingent on the merit of the pilot study in Antelias branch and replication of the emergency plan intervention would be sustained by coupling the schedule of audits and competency evaluations with that of the intervention. Thus, the responsible personnel were recommended to be an officer in the quality department due to scarcity of resources to recruit.