Hospital preparedness for COVID-19 at a base level hospital in Galle District, Sri Lanka

COVID-19 is a contagious respiratory illness caused by SARS-CoV-2. As such, it is challenging to maintain the safety of healthcare workers while delivering care to patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. The health sector has thus implemented various strategies to enhance hospital preparedness and ensure safety. The aim of this study is then to assess the hospital’s preparedness for COVID-19 at a base hospital in Galle District, to ensure safety. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among medical officers and nursing officers in Galle district. A self-administered questionnaire and an observational checklist were used to collect data. Response rate was 90.52%. Majority were female 88.8% (n=221). Majority of the participants were between 30-39 years of age (n=144 %). Study sample consisted of 62 (24%) medical officers and 196 (76%) nursing officers and the majority (n=152, 58.9%) had more than 10 years of work experience. Furthermore, the majority 81.4% (n=210) were aware of updates about guidelines and circulars regarding COVID-19 issued by the Ministry of Health. Frequent hand washing was practiced by 96.9% (n=250) while social distancing was not practiced by a considerable number of participants (n=77, 29.8%). 90.7% (n=234) participants were not exposed to training on outbreak management. A considerable proportion was not confident about the correct practice of donning and doffing (n=60, 23.2%). The absence of a dedicated respiratory ward and a separate venue at emergency treatment unit to manage patients with respiratory symptoms were noted. There were deficiencies of adherence to social distancing, training, self-confidence and physical arrangement of hospital. Ergo, it is noted that implementing training programs on outbreak response and building trust between the institution and staff on safety will improve the preparedness in future outbreaks.