PAHO Trains Local Health Workers In Proper Mask Fitting To Prevent Disease Spread

Healthcare practitioners in the Turks and Caicos Islands should be better able to protect themselves and their patients against contracting pathogens, thanks to an Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) training of trainers Respiratory Protection Programme two-day workshop put on by the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) in conjunction with the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UK HSA).

Presenters and participants in the IPC training of trainers Respiratory Protection Programme took time for a photo op during the event.

The Workshop, held at the Atrium Hotel in Providenciales on Thursday, January 26 and Friday, January 27 was geared toward providing local healthcare providers with the knowhow on lessening infection contraction by learning how to properly fit their masks to their faces to prevent escape.

Those who participated in the session should have the capacity to now train their colleagues.

Kathrin Johnston, PAHO Infection Control and Prevention Consultant with responsibility for the English-Speaking Caribbean, and a facilitators, said that her organization has been instrumental in supporting the strengthening of IPC throughout the English-Speaking Caribbean.

She said under the programme, PAHO is helping to build additional capacity at the national, as well as the health facility level, with the focus on acute care facilities, including hospitals, as well as the primary healthcare systems.

“…So that the clinics also have strong infections prevention and control practices, and able to protect not only employees but also their patient population from emerging and reemerging threats from pathogens,” Johnston said.

Jackurlyn Sutton, Chief Nursing Officer in the Ministry of Health and Human Services and the National IPC Focus Point and a participant engage in a demonstration of the process of proper mask-fitting. In background (left) is Janice Toplass of the UK HSA and Kathrin Johnston, PAHO Infection Control and Prevention Consultant with responsibility for the English-Speaking Caribbean, and a facilitator.

She pointed out that in addition to still grappling with COVID-19, the region was still dealing with emerging pathogens such as respiratory syncytial as well as influenza.

“People forgot that influenza and respiratory syncytial virus can cause increase disease as well as resulting in deaths (to those) who are extremely susceptible to those diseases. Another area that all of the countries are susceptible to is the emergence of antimicrobial resistant organisms,” Johnston said.

She reiterated that the strengthening general infection prevention and control practices, would give healthcare systems in the region a broader base to be able to protect the patient population, visitors and staff.

“So, we have set motion the implementation of a respiratory protection programme for all persons who are exposed to respiratory pathogens that are transmitted in healthcare settings. And we are providing them with the tools to be able to determine which protective measures are best applied, and also ensuring that through a fit-test programme that the respirators that are being used by healthcare practitioners adequately protect them and fit properly so that there is no escaping, so that pathogens can escape that protection,” she pointed out.

Merissa George, another member of the PAHO Consulting team, responsible for the English-Speaking Caribbean IPC Training, was thrilled with the support from the local participants.

“We all know the importance of the Respiratory Protection Programme, having been in the middle of a COVID Pandemic that we are pretty much still in the middle of. And as a result, it is imperative that our healthcare workers receive the knowledge that they can be protected.

“The COVID mortality numbers would have shown that quite a number of healthcare workers globally lost their lives, and so we are trying to strengthen capacity here in the Turks and Cand, and eventually other islands in the English-Speaking Caribbean, so that our healthcare worker would be protected and eventually train other healthcare workers to have the capacity, and overall, you are strengthening your healthcare system when you do that,” she said added.

Kathrin Johnston (right), PAHO Infection Control and Prevention Consultant with responsibility for the English-Speaking Caribbean, and a facilitator assists a participant with her mask-fitting.

Janice Toplass, Specialist with the UK HSA, as part of the UK Overseas Territories Programme, supporting colleagues in the OTs with their IPC, lauded the PAHO for staging the event.

She also stated that the workshop should strengthen the TCI’s ability to not only reducing the risk of infection among caregivers, but also patients and the general population.

“It is about strengthening the ability to respond to future outbreaks and giving the assurance to the ministry stakeholders that things are being undertaken with evidence-based methodology to strengthen the healthcare system,” said.

For her part, Jackurlyn Sutton, Chief Nursing Officer in the Ministry of Health and Human Services and the National IPC Focus Point deemed the event a privilege.

“This is one of many initiatives that PAHO has assisted us with. Previously in 2021, they assisted us in our assessment of our healthcare facilities in relation to IPC. And today, we have been looking forward to this training in terms of mask fit testing, which is very essential in terms of ensuring that our healthcare workers are properly protected in the healthcare environment from COVID and also from other emerging and re-emerging diseases.

She stated that the participants have been equipped with the skills and competence to build capacity by training other colleagues in the healthcare system.

The participants came from the government sector as well as from and private entities.