The healthcare industry is one of the fastest growing industries. It gets new people from different backgrounds of training all the time. Many Healthcare professionals might want some tips and educational training to better take care of their staff . This should also help keep the number of employee related sickness and injury down, which would benefit the hospital financially.
As you know, healthcare workers are perpetually exposed to health and safety hazards on the job from people, equipment, waste and a plethora of other things. According to OSHA, a staggering number of illnesses and nonfatal injuries to medical personnel occurred on the job site. To be more specific, illnesses on the job and injuries are the highest in the United States among workers in the healthcare industry.
They routinely face some of the greatest health risks that most people, even hospital administration, cannot even fathom, such as constantly injuring their back, needles sticking them on accident or from unruly patients, allergies to pats of their uniform and cleaning supplies, blood and airborne pathogens, exposure to dangerous drugs and chemicals, exposure to harmful levels of radiation from scanning devices, stress and plenty of workplace violence, especially in big city trauma centers.
It is impossible to eliminate most of the risks healthcare workers come into contact every day multiple times a day, but thanks to new and improved technology like mega power generators and surgical smoke removal devices, we are on the way to change. Here are four safety tips you can pass along to your staff to assist them in reducing some of the risks and avoiding potentially fatal or volatile situations.
Beware of Blood
There is a process by which a pathogen can become blood borne, but instead of explaining that, I think you should be briefed on how to handle an outbreak or stop one. To prevent one, all workers dealing with body fluids should wear the right protective equipment, and the uniform must be complete with safety googles, a gown with a face shield, thick, long, but form fitting gloves. This uniform will keep fluid of your workers. The following procedures should act as a physical firewall:
- Everyone should practice medical-grade hand hygiene.
- Anyone involved in a surgical procedure or putting in an I.V. injection should scrub their skin thoroughly with a combo of disinfectant soap and antiseptics.
- Thoroughly clean and sterilize all medical instruments that are not disposable.
Sharp Safety
Luckily, needle usage in hospitals has decreased thanks to new techniques and I.V. technology. Unfortunately, needles and other sharp instruments like scalpels can get loose, contaminated and cut either staff or patients in a hospital or residents in a care facility. All medical facilities have good systems in place for properly handling, cleaning and returning sharp instruments to their proper positions, but cut still occur, so you have to stress the importance of following directions or getting help if they are not comfortable or suffer from anxiety.
In hospitals and doctors’ offices, there are systems in place to dispose of dirty needles to avoid others getting stuck, and rules forbidding the capping of used needles to prevent them from being used again. There are already good methods written in safety manuals to help prevent and mitigate damage, but there is only so much sheltering that can take place.
Fire Drills
Each year the number of hospice and hospital fires has been going down thanks to proactive administrators demanding fire safety be taught and by implementing effective means to put flames out before they can become destructive infernos.
Still, your staff needs to know operating rooms are at the greatest risk due to the amount of flammable materials, such as methane, hydrogen plastic masks, flammable cloth drapes, nitrous oxide and flammable gas. The proper precautions you should teach your staff to take include, covering flammable parts of the body with water-soaked materials, using fire-resistant drapes, keeping the nitrous oxide and oxygen levels normal or low and making sure the electrocautery tools are in their designated areas.
Additionally, regular fire drills should be held for staff and for patients or residents. Speaking of residents and patients, if there is an emergency there are protocols. First, employees should rescue those closest to them or activate the fire alarm. Whatever they can do first. Next, you and the rest of your staff should contain the fire as best you can by shutting windows and doors. Remember, fire feeds of oxygen. Finally, if it is possible to find a fire extinguisher, then do it and use it properly.
Chemical Hazards
There are certain chemicals implemented for various purposes in the healthcare industry that can cause serious injury, diseases or lead to slow or an immediate death. They can cause reproductive problems, several types of cancer, asthma and other lung complications, neurological diseases, reproductive disorders in men and women and developmental disorders in unborn children.
Hospitals and care facilities contain a mix of hazardous chemicals such as triclosan, phthalates, mercury and more. Workers can even accidentally get into powerful chemotherapy drugs. According to OSHA, medical facilities are supposed to train people about how to handle these materials properly and what to do if they are exposed in order to minimize risk, but the protocol to learn is rarely followed.
It is true that you and other healthcare professionals are at an increased risk for a lot of different bad things. Fortunately, there is so much information out there that covers nearly everything that could go wrong. Make sure your employees read all of their manuals and safety data sheets. Make them take quizzes and offer incentives for those that stay educated and safe, and you should get rid of anyone who habitually fails, hurts themselves, others or are prone to making mistakes ranging from trivial to severe. They are a safety hazard, and it is your job to make sure the facility is free of safety hazards.