Strengthen your Fire Safety Measures with SHEAP

Learn how the Safe Healthcare Environment Advisory Program (SHEAP) can enhance your work environment and benefit staff and patients.

Healthcare organisations are considered complex facilities that require management of high-tech equipment, chemicals, electrical wiring, food preparation and flammable materials to create a comfortable working environment. Due to these elements and the nature of their roles, healthcare workers are exposed to potential hazards daily. Fire safety has always been a challenge for healthcare facilities, which can include extensive wiring systems, massive electrical needs to operate machinery and equipment, cooking and food preparation, chemicals, and accidental fires.  

The Safe Healthcare Environment Advisory Program (SHEAP) was developed to provide international healthcare organisations with the guidance, insights, and expertise to review and improve the care delivery environment and infrastructure. ACHS International (ACHSI) established the program in partnership with the Joint Commission of Taiwan (JCT) to enhance healthcare work environments, benefiting both staff and patients. 

The program is categorised into modules including - Organisational Strategies, Environment and Infrastructure, Drills and Training, and Contingency Response. Each module guides the organisation in preventing common risks and responding to problems that may impact the delivery of safe and high-quality care. 

Dr Karen Luxford, ACHS and ACHSI Group CEO, recently visited the JCT team in Taiwan and was given a tour of the Feng Yuan Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare.  

Established in 1983 the Feng Yuan Hospital was administered under the umbrella of the Taiwan Provincial Health Department. The hospital is now a regional teaching hospital housing 689 beds and employing around 1,000 medical staff. Feng Yuan Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare sets a goal of “becoming an outstanding health-fostering hospital in greater Feng-Yuan”. 

Feng Yuan Hospital has been one of the founding Hospitals to go through the SHEAP program, and it was great to see the commitment to fire safety, and learnings in practise. 

If you would like to strengthen your fire safety measures and elevate your healthcare environment, contact the ACHSI team on info@achsi.org