Recently, to improve the working conditions for frontline medical staff of the civil aviation system, and care and protect their physical and psychological health so that they can better contribute to the prevention and control of the outbreak, CAAC issued the Notice on Civil Aviation System Comprehensively Implementing Further Care and Protection for Medical Staff (hereinafter referred to as the Notice), instructing that civil aviation entities must emphasize attention, care and protection for medical staff.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, health workers across China have actively answered to the call of the Party, marching towards difficulties and racing to the frontline, even putting their own safety at stake. Among them, there are medical staff from civil aviation medical institutions, aviation doctors and public health doctors from airlines, emergency rescue workers at airports, physical examiners of examination centers and public health research and technical fellow jointly constituting the frontline for the civil aviation system, but while the battle against the virus has come to the most exhausting and critical stage, they are fighting under excessive workload, high infection risks, limited work and rest conditions and great pressure.

Under such circumstances, the Notice raised attention on professional protection for medical staff and reasonable schedule for their work and rest, instructing relevant entities to enhance personal and work protection of medical staff, do their best in arranging protection supplies and medical resources, improve treatment and work environment and reduce internal infections to the minimal; strengthen security efforts to protect medical staff from any violent acts; and ensure good logistic service, practice reasonable schedule for work and rest, and care for health workers’ sleep and catering quality.

The Notice required efforts to care for the physical and mental health of medical staff and express more human touch in their daily work. Relevant entities should pay close attention to the physical status of health workers and ensure timely quarantine and treatment if they are found infected; meanwhile also care for their mental condition by helping them ease mental stress, providing mental aid and conducting dedicated psychological intervention or treatment when necessary. In addition, efforts should be made to care for their demand and timely understand their difficulties, and conduct one-on-one help for frontline health workers when necessary so that they can fight without things dragging them behind.

Regarding remuneration for medical staff, the Notice instructed that performance-based rewards should favor those with heavy prevention and control tasks, at high-risk posts, or shown courage in shouldering responsibilities, in particular those who have made outstanding contributions at the frontline. And the Notice encouraged exploration with different modes of insurance, aiming to better safeguard life and health of medical staff.

Besides, the Notice also pointed out that relevant entities should enhance promotion of the professional ethics demonstrated by medical staff, honor those who have stood out in work and make them models to lead the others.

The Notice stressed that entities should translate the attention and care from the Party Central Committee, the State Council and the CAAC Party Group to frontline medical workers into solid acts with good sense of responsibility and pragmatic measures, concretely improve their working conditions, care for their physical and mental health and safeguard their rights and interests so as to ensure strong support to win this fight against COVID-19.