Reduce Workplace Accidents
When you’re working with and around patients all day, the potential for safety hazards is extensive. However, many accidents can be avoided by following safety procedures and taking appropriate precautions.
Be Aware of Safety Hazards
Most accidents are caused by an unsafe act, an unsafe condition or a combination of the two. For example, a worker could suffer an injury due to chemical exposure—an accident due to the unsafe act of not wearing protective equipment. Or, a patient could trip over a wire on the ground, which would be the result of an unsafe condition. In either instance, the accident could have been prevented by following proper safety precautions.
Because your job and your working environment pose potential hazardous situations, it’s important to understand what causes accidents so that you can avoid them. While it is impossible to list all of the hazards you may encounter while working, common ones may include the following:
- Injuries due to debris or spills that are not cleaned up
- Failing to wear proper personal protective equipment when working with patients or chemicals
- Mishandling, misuse, improper storage or improper disposal of medical equipment or supplies
- Contamination situations due to a failure to take safety precautions
Don’t Cut Safety Corners
The first step to keeping yourself and co-workers safe is to stay alert on the job and don’t let routine or familiarity lure you into carelessness. Always observe safety precautions before and during a task, even if those precautions make the task more inconvenient or take longer to complete. Cutting corners may not seem like a big deal, but doing so is a primary cause of accidents.
Practice Safety
Next, know your job. The more you know about your job, the safer you’ll be. Know the proper procedures and safety precautions for any task you do, and if any questions arise during your workday, be sure to talk to your supervisor. Also, when appropriate, explain safety procedures and precautions to patients so that they can help maintain a safe environment.
Also, know which tasks, areas and situations are more prone to hazardous conditions, and always be on the lookout for anything unsafe. If you see a patient behaving unsafely, intervene to correct the behavior. Or if you spot a hazardous condition, either fix the problem yourself or report it to a supervisor or maintenance worker.
Get Involved
Finally, make a personal contribution. A good way to start this is to follow all safety rules, even if you think they are unnecessary or slow you down. Certain rules are made for your protection and the protection of patients, so follow them. Also, just because an unsafe act is not specifically prohibited, it doesn’t mean you should do it. Use your common sense when evaluating if an act is safe or not, and always be sure to consider potential impact on the patients in your facility.
Develop a safe attitude! This is probably one of the most difficult things to face because most of us have the mistaken notion that it’s always someone else who gets hurt, never us. If we all do our share in observing safety rules and staying alert for unsafe conditions, everyone will benefit by having fewer accidents.
This safety matters flyer is for general informational purposes only, and is not intended as medical or legal advice. © 2010, 2014, 2019 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved