On 22 and 23 June 2022, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), in collaboration with the University of Cape Town’s (UCTs) Occupational Medicine Division, hosted the first training workshop titled Health risk assessments in health facilities - a focus on ventilation assessment at the UCT Health Sciences campus.

The two-day Continuous Professional Development-accredited practical workshop delivered by a multi-disciplinary team of experts was aimed at developing the health risk assessment skills of staff in provincial and municipal health facilities tasked with protecting the health and safety of health workers.

Prof. Mohamed Jeebhay, the Head of the UCT Occupational Medicine Division, opened the workshop and highlighted that such collaborations were aligned to the Division’s goal of promoting access to clinical and technical expertise for staff working in primary and secondary level health facilities, as well as for those based in remote settings.

The staff that participated in the workshop included occupational medicine practitioners, occupational nursing practitioners, health and safety officers, infection prevention and control practitioners, as well as engineering and maintenance professionals. Occupational hygiene inspectors from the Department of Employment and Labour were also present since they play an important role ensuring compliance with health and safety legislation in workplaces.

The workshop focused on the role of ventilation assessment as an important engineering control measure for both SARS-Cov-2 and tuberculosis risk management in healthcare settings.

The training workshop convenor, Dr Itumeleng Ntatamala, excitingly exclaimed that “due to the overwhelming response to the advert, UCT and the CSIR will deliver a second workshop in August this year.”

The collaboration was further heightened with the CSIR team donating four carbon dioxide monitors to the Division for training purposes.