Healthcare Setting Safety Assignment
Healthcare setting safety assignment
By
Nayna Parikh
MA275-Online Clinical Competencies II
Prof: Leon Deutsch
Kaplan University
February 02,2015
Health and safety in healthcare setting
The health care sector is complex and covers a variety of professions and work places facing different occupational health hazards and associated health problems.
A hazard, in general, refers to anything with the potential to cause harm in terms of human injury or illhealth, damage to property, damage to the environment or a combination of chemical substances, machinery or methods of work.
The first step in safeguarding safety and health is to identify hazards and risk from materials, equipment, chemicals and work activities.
The employer is required …show more content…
to systematically examine the workplace and work activities to identify workplace-generated hazards.
The employer must assess if a risk is high, medium or low. The appropriate control measures to eliminate the hazards as far as possible must be reviewed.
Completely eliminating all hazards may not, of course, always be entirely possible. Therefore the control measures put into place must reduce the risk of injury or effects to health to the absolute minimum.
Hazards in healthcare setting
Hazards in healthcare may be considered under the headings of physical, chemical, biological and psychosocial hazards include: Manual handling activities involving heavy, awkward or hard to reach loads where there is a risk of injury. Slipping and tripping hazards such as wet or poorly maintained floors. Poor housekeeping such as hazardous cleaning, disinfecting or sterilizing agents. Waste disposal as clinical waste and needle sticks.
Infection include any virus and bacteria that can cause infection, allergies or toxic effects. Human factors such as bullying at work and dealing with aggressive behavior. Fire
Faulty electrical wiring and electrical equipment.
Prevent Injury
To prevent injury, particularly back injury training for staff in the practice of manual handling must be provided in each healthcare setting before they are permitted or expected to move people. Training must include demonstrations of how people should be assisted correctly with the use of equipment. This helps staff to avoid as much as possible manual handling without equipment and to assist people to move themselves, thus encouraging a feeling of independence for the person. Staff should be taught how to move people who are unable to move themselves, even with assistance in the safest possible way whilst avoiding injury to themselves, colleagues and the person they are moving. Equipment must be checked on a regular basis and the manufacturer's instructions read and clearly understood. If equipment is not work correctly it should be taken out of use and clearly marked as not being in use. If this is not done, harm could be caused to care workers and patients alike.
Patient safety goals
identify patients correctly. improve effective Communication. improve the safety of high-alert medications. ensure correct-site, correct-procedure, correct-patient surgery. reduce the risk of health care–associated infections. reduce the risk of patient harm resulting from falls.
Slips, Trips and Falls
Slips, trips and falls are one of the main causes of injury in healthcare. Health and safety law requires that there is safe entry and exit into the workplace. In healthcare setting floors must be in good condition and, as far as is reasonably practicable, not slippery. Places of work must be kept in a clean state and accumulations of dirt, refuse and waste frequently removed by a suitable method to maintain an appropriate level of safety and health.
Identify and deal with high risk Hazard areas
Areas with a sudden change in the level of grip such as bathrooms where floor can be wet and in bedroom or corridor dry ground. • level changes: areas such as ramps slopes, stairs etc should be properly protected and clearly visible. Stairs should have easy to reach handrails and the steps should be of equal height and equal depth throughout the flight of stairs. The nosing’s should be in good condition and easily visible and the lighting should be sufficient to see the edges clearly; • sources of liquid: identify areas which may present a risk such as wash-up areas, showers and toilets. • cables and hoses : cables, leads or hoses across areas can present a tripping hazard and should be rerouted where possible; site electrical sockets to avoid trailing cables; • damaged flooring/paving: these can lead to a tripping hazard: flooring and paving should be maintained in good repair, avoiding dangerous bumps, holes and slopes; • slippery surfaces: floors should be suitable for the work environment and work activities.
Fire and electrical equipment
Fire prevention is a predominant issue in the safety, health and welfare of everyone working within healthcare setting. All staff must be aware of how to prevent fire and know the procedure for the safe evacuation of patients, visitors and staff if fire does break out. This means that an emergency plan must be available detailing what should be done in the case of an outbreak of fire. All staff must be trained in fire safety and regular testing of fire alarms and practice evacuations. Fire extinguishers, fire blankets, smoke alarms and sprinkler system should be fitted and tested frequently in accordance with legal requirements.
The most frequent elements that could contribute directly or indirectly to the start of a fire are: smoking outside of designated areas, faulty electrical wiring, faulty electrical equipment, poor housekeeping, heaters, flammable liquids, medical gases.
Infection …show more content…
control
The main hazard in healthcare setting are infections. Everybody is at risk of infection. Many types of infection and illness can quickly spread if precautions are not taken. Infection can be spread in the following ways: airborne: air from sneezing, coughing, wound dressing, skin scales and dust form cleaning equipment indirect contact: into blood and body fluid direct contact: contact with patients, unwashed hands, did not use or not changed PPE as gloves, mask,
aprons.
Infection control is the responsibility of everybody but staff working within healthcare setting must be aware of their responsibilities to educate patients and visitors. Hand washing is a simple procedure to control infection. Posters in each toilet and bathroom indicate the correct hand-washing techniques can help to prevent the acquisition and spread of infection. Hand should be washed before and after direct contact with patient, after contact with bodily fluid, before touching food, after using the toilet, following the removal of gloves.
The use of PPE is an essential element of infection prevention and control. PPE need to be worn to prevent contact with bodily fluids or when contact with broken skin or mucous membranes is likely. The types of
PPE used within healthcare setting is gloves (non-sterile and sterile) , mask, goggle, aprons or gowns.
Reference :
Safety and Health Topics | Healthcare. (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2015, from
https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/healthcarefacilities/index.html
Managing Health and Safety in Healthcare - Safety Management Online Course. (n.d.). Retrieved February
5, 2015, from http://alison.com/courses/Managing-Health-and-Safety-in-Healthcare-Safety-Management
Health & Safety. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2015, from http://www.ca.gov/HealthSafety/index.html
Environmental Health and Safety. (n.d.). Retrieved February 1, 2015, from https://healthsafety.etsu.edu/
By
Nayna Parikh
MA275-Online Clinical Competencies II
Prof: Leon Deutsch
Kaplan University
February 02,2015
Health and safety in healthcare setting
The health care sector is complex and covers a variety of professions and work places facing different occupational health hazards and associated health problems.
A hazard, in general, refers to anything with the potential to cause harm in terms of human injury or illhealth, damage to property, damage to the environment or a combination of chemical substances, machinery or methods of work.
The first step in safeguarding safety and health is to identify hazards and risk from materials, equipment, chemicals and work activities.
The employer is required …show more content…
to systematically examine the workplace and work activities to identify workplace-generated hazards.
The employer must assess if a risk is high, medium or low. The appropriate control measures to eliminate the hazards as far as possible must be reviewed.
Completely eliminating all hazards may not, of course, always be entirely possible. Therefore the control measures put into place must reduce the risk of injury or effects to health to the absolute minimum.
Hazards in healthcare setting
Hazards in healthcare may be considered under the headings of physical, chemical, biological and psychosocial hazards include: Manual handling activities involving heavy, awkward or hard to reach loads where there is a risk of injury. Slipping and tripping hazards such as wet or poorly maintained floors. Poor housekeeping such as hazardous cleaning, disinfecting or sterilizing agents. Waste disposal as clinical waste and needle sticks.
Infection include any virus and bacteria that can cause infection, allergies or toxic effects. Human factors such as bullying at work and dealing with aggressive behavior. Fire
Faulty electrical wiring and electrical equipment.
Prevent Injury
To prevent injury, particularly back injury training for staff in the practice of manual handling must be provided in each healthcare setting before they are permitted or expected to move people. Training must include demonstrations of how people should be assisted correctly with the use of equipment. This helps staff to avoid as much as possible manual handling without equipment and to assist people to move themselves, thus encouraging a feeling of independence for the person. Staff should be taught how to move people who are unable to move themselves, even with assistance in the safest possible way whilst avoiding injury to themselves, colleagues and the person they are moving. Equipment must be checked on a regular basis and the manufacturer's instructions read and clearly understood. If equipment is not work correctly it should be taken out of use and clearly marked as not being in use. If this is not done, harm could be caused to care workers and patients alike.
Patient safety goals
identify patients correctly. improve effective Communication. improve the safety of high-alert medications. ensure correct-site, correct-procedure, correct-patient surgery. reduce the risk of health care–associated infections. reduce the risk of patient harm resulting from falls.
Slips, Trips and Falls
Slips, trips and falls are one of the main causes of injury in healthcare. Health and safety law requires that there is safe entry and exit into the workplace. In healthcare setting floors must be in good condition and, as far as is reasonably practicable, not slippery. Places of work must be kept in a clean state and accumulations of dirt, refuse and waste frequently removed by a suitable method to maintain an appropriate level of safety and health.
Identify and deal with high risk Hazard areas
Areas with a sudden change in the level of grip such as bathrooms where floor can be wet and in bedroom or corridor dry ground. • level changes: areas such as ramps slopes, stairs etc should be properly protected and clearly visible. Stairs should have easy to reach handrails and the steps should be of equal height and equal depth throughout the flight of stairs. The nosing’s should be in good condition and easily visible and the lighting should be sufficient to see the edges clearly; • sources of liquid: identify areas which may present a risk such as wash-up areas, showers and toilets. • cables and hoses : cables, leads or hoses across areas can present a tripping hazard and should be rerouted where possible; site electrical sockets to avoid trailing cables; • damaged flooring/paving: these can lead to a tripping hazard: flooring and paving should be maintained in good repair, avoiding dangerous bumps, holes and slopes; • slippery surfaces: floors should be suitable for the work environment and work activities.
Fire and electrical equipment
Fire prevention is a predominant issue in the safety, health and welfare of everyone working within healthcare setting. All staff must be aware of how to prevent fire and know the procedure for the safe evacuation of patients, visitors and staff if fire does break out. This means that an emergency plan must be available detailing what should be done in the case of an outbreak of fire. All staff must be trained in fire safety and regular testing of fire alarms and practice evacuations. Fire extinguishers, fire blankets, smoke alarms and sprinkler system should be fitted and tested frequently in accordance with legal requirements.
The most frequent elements that could contribute directly or indirectly to the start of a fire are: smoking outside of designated areas, faulty electrical wiring, faulty electrical equipment, poor housekeeping, heaters, flammable liquids, medical gases.
Infection …show more content…
control
The main hazard in healthcare setting are infections. Everybody is at risk of infection. Many types of infection and illness can quickly spread if precautions are not taken. Infection can be spread in the following ways: airborne: air from sneezing, coughing, wound dressing, skin scales and dust form cleaning equipment indirect contact: into blood and body fluid direct contact: contact with patients, unwashed hands, did not use or not changed PPE as gloves, mask,
aprons.
Infection control is the responsibility of everybody but staff working within healthcare setting must be aware of their responsibilities to educate patients and visitors. Hand washing is a simple procedure to control infection. Posters in each toilet and bathroom indicate the correct hand-washing techniques can help to prevent the acquisition and spread of infection. Hand should be washed before and after direct contact with patient, after contact with bodily fluid, before touching food, after using the toilet, following the removal of gloves.
The use of PPE is an essential element of infection prevention and control. PPE need to be worn to prevent contact with bodily fluids or when contact with broken skin or mucous membranes is likely. The types of
PPE used within healthcare setting is gloves (non-sterile and sterile) , mask, goggle, aprons or gowns.
Reference :
Safety and Health Topics | Healthcare. (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2015, from
https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/healthcarefacilities/index.html
Managing Health and Safety in Healthcare - Safety Management Online Course. (n.d.). Retrieved February
5, 2015, from http://alison.com/courses/Managing-Health-and-Safety-in-Healthcare-Safety-Management
Health & Safety. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2015, from http://www.ca.gov/HealthSafety/index.html
Environmental Health and Safety. (n.d.). Retrieved February 1, 2015, from https://healthsafety.etsu.edu/