Abstract:

The aim of this research was to assess employee health and safety practices, in public and private healthcare institutions providing services in the city of Mersin. Methods: The data of this descriptive study was collected through questionnaires conducted in September 2015. Thirty-four healthcare institutions in total were included for this work. These institutions have been providing second and third-level health services for the city center, as well as the surrounding districts of Mersin. Results: When assessed in terms of the number of employees in occupational health and work safety services, only 10.1% of health workers were found to have satisfactory access to occupational physicians, whereas only 0.8% received sufficient support from occupational health and safety experts. When the access to both the occupational physicians and the occupational health and safety experts were evaluated together, only 0.8% of the health workers were found to be able to receive adequate contact time. In 2014, 52.9% of the employees were examined periodically and 94.1% of the institutions had established risk assessments. Conclusion: In Mersin, only 1% of the health workers are provided with occupational health and work safety services for a sufficient period of time by occupational physicians and occupational health and safety experts. This has been highlighted as a major shortcoming.

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