Five Safety Tips for Health Care Workers
The health care industry is the fastest-growing sector worldwide. In this domain, there are more than 18 million staff and about 80 % of the staff is the women.
Health care staff face several serious safety side effects on their workplace. In fact, infections at work place and nonfatal incidents are highest amongst the healthcare workers. They face a variety of health risks, which includes back sufferings, needle stick incidents, latex risks, blood borne pathogens, potential chemical substance and drug exposures, laser dangers, radioactive materials, work environment assault, and stress.
The injury rates are even higher, where the staff face a variety of safety hazards, which includes falls, automobile accidents and overexertion.
How Many HEALTHCARE Workers Get Injured or Sick at their job place?
According to the recent research, the accidental rate amongst the healthcare and interpersonal workers is much higher than another sector. The work-related infections and injuries encountered by healthcare employees are even greater than those who are belonged to manufacturing and construction industry.
It is about not only doctors, nurses, and medical personnel who face such side effects and risks; other peoples who are working in healthcare facilities are also facing the similar risks. For example, people who employed in the medical equipment maintenance, mechanized maintenance, building and grounds maintenance, food service, laundry, housekeeping, and administrative personnel have also reported nonfatal injury and illnesses at work.
The workers/employees, however, have the right to claim individuals’ compensation if indeed they have been put through nonfatal occupational incidents or illnesses at work. Just like almost every other professional, healthcare professional, too, have the right to a safe work environment, and the medical center/medical facility must definitely provide a safe and healthy workplace. You can find laws and regulations related to it. Employees can also seek help from employees’ compensation legal representatives for doing exercising their rights.
Though it is not possible to get rid of, the risks allied the healthcare and interpersonal assistance industry, these safety tips help the employees/workers to avoid extreme situations and decreases the risks.
1. Take Precautions in order to avoid Bloodborne Pathogens
Health care staff often come in contact to patients’ body liquids and it is subjected to bloodborne pathogens. In cases like this, bacterial and viral microbe infections are communicated through bloodstream and other body essential fluids. Moreover, through way, the chance for infection boosts when a staff member touches these fluids. Healthcare staff should therefore take necessary safeguards and wear personal protecting equipment to avoid the infection. Proper wear of gowns, gloves, basic safety goggles, and face shields keep the body fluids away from the worker’s skin.
The medical center/health care center must ensure proper management of exposures and reduce/destroy the existence of infection-causing microorganisms within the service.
2. Take precautions with Sharps Injuries
Scalpels, fine needles, and other razor-sharp objects that get used in medical facilities are usually infectious. Healthcare employees often are very exposed to such materials. In order to avoid health risks due to such infectious materials, it is important to follow a proper disposal system for many sharps and infectious waste products. Furthermore, employees must be more cautious when handling distinct items because sharps incidents usually rise the threat of infectious diseases.
Avoid the use of needles, if possible. Today, many hospitals and medical facilities have reduced the usage of needles, and have started using the alternate methods through hands-free techniques. Other practices to reduce or eliminate the risk of sharp injuries includes disposing of syringes at the point of use in a safety box, no recapping of needles, using blunt suture needles and scalpel blades with rounded tips, passing sharp instruments in basins, using disposable gloves, etc.
3. Use Proper Devices to decrease the risk of Musculoskeletal Injuries
Musculoskeletal injuries are normal with doctors who lift up immobile patients and/or transfer them between bedrooms and wheelchairs. This put those employees in danger for musculoskeletal disorders, who have injury at their bone fragments, muscles, ligaments, nerves, bones, cartilage, tendons, or arteries in the trunk, limbs, throat or head.
To keep safe yourself from musculoskeletal disorders and severe aches, use assistive devices such as slide bed linens, slings, and digital hoists whenever you can. Unless you get access to such devices, at least use the right body techniques for reducing the chance of accident; for example, maintain your feet aside and legs bent when raising an immobile patient.
4. Train Employees to be Safe against Chemical substances
Some chemicals found in the health care industry could cause serious diseases such as cancer tumor, reproductive disorders, neurological diseases, asthma, and developmental disorders. The likes of such hazardous chemicals includes mercury, phthalates, bisphenol A, and triclosan. Medical workers/employees can exposed to chemotherapeutic brokers and medications, which happen to be harmful and is required to handle properly.
However, medical facilities need to teach employees about that how to handle such unsafe substances very safely. Furthermore, doctors must provide the usage of safety data linens with information on composition of every chemical found in the service and their potential issues.
Health care specialists must wear gloves and other personal protecting equipment is while managing hazardous chemicals.
5. Provide Fire Safe Training
Although the amount of fires in clinics and hospices is declining every year, but according to the hospitals and other medical centers, proper precautions should take by using the water-soluble materials and other flammable parts of the body to prevent from chemical hazards.
Conclusion
However, it is said, that healthcare workers/employees face the very basic safety hazards from the very first day they enter in to the medical center. However, the clinics and the medical centers should take the responsibility to make the workplace as safe as possible. In addition, the doctors and other staff should follow all the rules that is offered by the medical administration to constantly change the workplace into a safe environment.
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