Perceptions of postoutbreak management by management and healthcare workers of a Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak in a tertiary care hospital: a qualitative study

Al Knawy, Bandar Abdulmohsen; Al-Kadri, Hanan M F; Elbarbary, Mahmoud; Arabi, Yaseen; Balkhy, Hanan H; Clark, Alex

The committee was activated as part of the IDEP phase 2 process, and is chaired by the Executive Director, Medical Services. Members include: CEO, CMO, ED Infection Control department, and heads of most concerned medical, media, security, logistics and nursing departments. The committee charges have allowed the meeting team to take major decisions and implement them immediately bypassing the usual routine hierarchy process. ED and patient triaging transformation ED staff and the military police have controlled all ED entrances, and access was restricted to ED employees. The MERS plan was implemented aiming to avoid any future occurrences of any infectious diseases. Major changes in the ED workflow were implemented. A drive-through was established at the entrance of the ED with 3 lanes and 4 windows per lane, manned by trained unit assistants to implement the initial triage process. Second, was the establishment of an 18 respiratory-isolation room facility for which patients with a suspected respiratory illness would be isolated and evaluated. Third, was a reducation in patient boarding time.