Hospital Safety (1979)

oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] most of us think of a hospital as a place where people go after they have an accident not as a place where people go to have accidents however like just about any place there are safety hazards in a hospital some are unique to the hospital environment and some are not generally the hospital staff is very aware of medical safety practices such as the proper handling of infectious cases careful checking of patient ID before administering any medication keeping things sanitary and disinfected or not entering restricted areas without proper authorization yet all of us at times tend to overlook some potential hazards that we are around every day we must try to learn to think safety in everything we do not only for our own protection but for the protection of the patients it can be as simple as using the safety straps on gurns locking the brakes on a wheelchair or measuring the hot water temperature for the safety of the patients 110° f is the maximum allowable if you should notice the hot water temperature has increased be sure to report it there should be nurse call buttons and grab bars installed in all patient toilet and bathing areas but are they all in good order take a few moments to check them periodically the clean linen cart should be opened only when removing or replenishing supplies The rest of the time keep it closed soiled Linens should be kept in a separate location and in a closed container some housekeeping tasks present potential hazards you can help minimize the possibility of an accident by clearly marking the work area and mopping one side at a time proper disposal of a syringe means using a syringe destruction unit to first cut off the needle and then render the syringe useless discard the remains in the special containers provided never in the waste basket one of the most common causes of injury in a hospital is improper lifting it's important to learn proper lifting techniques whether you work in the patient area or any other part of the hospital always bend from the knees not the waist when lifting from the floor let your legs do the work not your back and don't be afraid to ask for help if you feel the weight is too much to carry alone what do you do when something you need is beyond your reach the right thing is to use a step stool or step ladder never stand on a chair take that coffee break in a designated lounge or snack bar don't smoke or eat in your work area especially if you handle toxic material if your job involves working in a noise or ey Hazard area you owe it to yourself to always use your protective equipment no Hazard to your health is so small that it is unimportant if your work requires personal protective equipment use it electrical equipment most people don't understand electricity and so must take it for granted all the more reason to use extra care with anything electrical there are a number of small but valuable dos and don'ts to keep in mind for example to pull out a plug don't yank the cord that can break the wires which could lead to a short or even worse a fire the proper way is to grab the plug itself be sure to inspect the plug before you connected to an outlet this one has a real fire and electrical shock hazard it has no grounding prong or dead front watch out for broken Outlets or Fray wires report dangerous defects like this immediately and don't make the mistake of overloading circuits with multi-outlet adapters electric beds are a potential problem because of the many opportunities for the cord to fray as the mechanism goes up and down sometimes an electrical device will give you a sign that there's something wrong if you ever get a tingling sensation from the case it's a sign of an electrical short or leakage that could be very dangerous don't use that piece of equipment disconnect it and report it patients should not be allowed to use personal electrical equipment unless it has been inspected and approved by medical maintenance you need to take special precautions with electrical equipment around an electrically susceptible patient or ESP there's something wrong with one of these patient monitors what it's hard to find a trouble when the trouble is what's missing the inspection sticker electronic equipment used with patients must have an upto-date sticker showing that it's been in expected within the last 6 months before using check to make sure the sticker is there and has a still current date if not put the device out of service and report it here's another situation you get interference on a display or recording again it's a sign that something's not right it could be minor or serious don't take a chance finally never touch a piece of electrical equipment and the patient at the same time even a current too slight for you to feel could be devastating to the patient if you sometimes have the job of moving gas cylinders around the hospital hpit here are a few safety pointers to keep in mind be sure the cylinder is fastened to the cart even if you're only going a short distance cylinders should always be kept when not in use empty ones included the storage area should provide a place for the full cylinders and a separate area for the empties be sure you you use the right one there are some safety pointers to remember before using an oxygen cylinder on the ward 2 before you attach any fittings clear the opening of dust and dirt by cracking the valve open then closing it again remember that Regulators can go bad don't stand in front of the face of the gauge on the regulator as you open the valve open it slowly never suddenly and how about the warning signs do you always remember to put them up in the room and on the door and never ever put a cylinder of gas near a flame or heat Source fire it's unlikely you'll ever see a serious fire in a hospital the threat seems so remote that we tend to overlook it we grow careless but a fire could happen at any time we can't afford not to be ready we all have responsibility for fire safety in big ways and little ways stairway fired doors must be kept closed if you see one propped open close it fire exits must never be locked when the area is occupied seems as if there's never enough storage space but even so you must keep aisles and corridors clear and never block doors used as a means of exit and supplies must never be stacked so that they would interfere with or conceal fire extinguishers insist on smoking regulations being followed in particular ambulatory patients May Never Smoke in bed non-ambulatory only when a staff member is present there are lots of flammable liquids around a hospital particularly in the laboratory it's a hazard we have to live with no the safety rules and follow them special cabinets appropriately marked should be used for storing a supply of flammable liquids store acids separately from flammable liquids and in the lab when you have to heat a flammable liquid use a hot plate never an open flame anytime you are required to work with toxic material be sure to use the fume [Music] Hood obviously we've only scratched the surface when it comes to the subject of safety rules but safety doesn't come just by learning a lot of rules it comes from an attitude for everyone who works in a hospital safety has to be a fulltime job a [Music]