Safety and Space Management in Healthcare Environments
Introduction
Safety management in healthcare environments is the intended efforts and procedures for identifying risk and reducing . Accidents in healthcare environments result from harmful substances and objects that may be present within the healthcare premises. Health safety management involves employees on accident , emergency attentiveness and the use of protective clothing and designed equipment to protect themselves from any harm (Joint Commission Resources, 2007).
Institutions differ in the quality policies they apply and the degree of space and safety management they use in their organizations. Maintaining a safe and clean environment shows the level of compassion and care for patients and people within a healthcare environment. In order to improve on health care measures, those within the healthcare environments should first understand the causes of risks and errors then apply the knowledge to find solutions, as part of the solution, they should implement ways of reducing risks hence reducing incidences of risks in such environments.
Actions to reduce risks in Healthcare Environments
All staff in a healthcare center should be educated about the standard values for safety in healthcare organizations. They should be trained on how to apply hand decontamination, safe disposal of harmful equipment’s and the use of defensive clothing to evade any contagion that may be instigated by the industrialized medical objects.
It is advisable for people working in a healthcare environment to rinse out hands before and after serving the patient, they should do this regularly while conducting activities in the hospital that may contaminate hands.
Those attending to patients should use the recommended procedures of hand washing that is; washing, rinsing then drying. In a case where hands are soiled, it is suitable to use alcohol hundrub or liquid soap and water to remove germs.
It is obligatory for those attending patients to remove wrist and hand jewelry while undertaking clinical tasks. Patients should cover cuts and wounds using waterproof dressings.
Employees in a health care center should use gloves while undertaking invasive tasks; this will avoid being exposed to blood and other body fluids of the patient. Bearing in mind that physicians are at a higher risk of getting infections from patient’s blood, it is advisable to put on plastic aprons to prevent direct exposure of the skin to patient’s body fluid. Aprons should be used together with gloves as single use items.
Technology in space management within health care environments
Although space management in health care centers applies to extra care and correct cleaning procedures, existence of resistant organisms puts us at an extremely high risk of being infected. Recently, experts in the field of healthcare centers, epidemiology and infection control have come to conformity that proper training and professional cleaning of healthcare environments is highly recommended in reducing germ infection through the pathogenic transmission. Notably, surfaces are well known to be the source of indirect infection for both patients and medical personnel. Space management in healthcare centers is obliged to train and put up systems that are calculated to meet the requirements of the current medical facilities.
Currently, countries are undergoing an enormous change in technological expertise. Healthcare is no exception to this it is evident from the various changes in medical technology facilities and changing demographics concerning age care and mental health in the developing countries. A common case in every health institution is the increasing need for competent employees in all departments to provide top quality services to the patients; this brings in the need to have enough space for both patients and medical professionals to operate effectively under minimum disturbance (Joint Commission Resources, 2007). Area functioning is challenging, when occupants move out they are replaced and the space is subsequently taken up again. This situation presents a challenge to the health facility managers to uphold the current and a reliable space distribution record.
In order for the space management to be efficient and effective in a healthcare environment, it is advisable to use the current software technology to manage the space of health care centers; there are several benefits in introducing the use of such software. This includes;
- Software use help bring maintenance in an organization by replacing the in-house system with a proprietary database system that is more efficient and effective.
- Introducing the technological effective system will help keep the rate with the current change and arrangement of space.
- It helps maintain the current precise information that is connected to the current AutoCAD plans.
- Introducing the software will ease the provision of intermittent reports of all departments in the institution and locate occupants with current space portion summary and associated space plans.
Implementation of space management system needs a careful examination of the reporting chain of command for all the departments in the institution. The management should site occupants so that all the space allocated to particular department can be integrated to achieve the department’s maximum area utilization. This is a very important process in space allocation since each department will be independent of its own (Resources, 2005).
Importance of space allocation in healthcare environments
Introducing technological facilities and applications to a health center that helps in space management adds cost benefits to the organization.
- Technological space management automatically sets up a maximum space utilization hence preventing waste of resources in healthcare centers.
- Technological space management increases the general efficiency in running facilities hence allowing the organization achieve its intended goals and objectives with minimal strain.
- It introduces and ensures a fast and precise management reporting.
- Automated facility provides the institution with efficient in-house running, resulting to increased capabilities for space management and project implementation.
- Extensive information is easily availed by the automated system, hence facilitating the growth of disaster recovery plans.
- Centralized database can work well with other corporate data sources; this eradicates the need to feed in the required information hence bringing in the efficiencies in the entire organization.
Quality and safety management systems in healthcare environments
The importance of a quality and safe management system are that it enhances the performance of an organization by easing processes and improving cooperation between health care professionals. A quality management system can be described as the organizational structure, procedures, resource control, and responsibilities used to monitor, improve, and declare safety in an organization. Continuous improvement based on measurable results is one of the basic components of quality management system, this reflects the efficient and systematic supervision and development of core processes through a quality cycle.
Health and Safety Management System
Health and safety management system is a system specifically designed to help employees and medical professionals in a healthcare environment achieve organizational well-being and safety (The Stationery Office, 2006).
There are two steps used so that one can achieve safety and well-being of the organization. The first is to integrate wellness and safety into the healthcare core business. The second step is to achieve safety and good health through motivating employees to work towards attaining the recommended standards of quality care, safety and public safety. Successful implementation of the two steps will generate a culture where safety, wellness and health are top priorities in health care organizations.
Health management system is defined as the components that are involved in the consistent cycle of implementation, evaluation, planning and continuous improvements aimed at decreasing occupational hazards in the workplace (Nelson, 2006). Notably, traditional health and safety programs in healthcare environments were ineffective they were reactive rather than proactive, particularly when dealing with health and safety enforcement.
Arguably, from the research findings, health management system helps organizations in many ways that include
- Developing and upholding a firm foundation to advance and advocate for safety culture.
- Relating patients’ safety and wellness with medical professions safety.
- Develop a culture where patient’s health and safety are seen as equally important as that of the medical staff.
- Determine and evaluate applicable needs of the organization.
- Review, identify and analyze the organization’s staff and patients indicators
- Put up attainable objectives and goals and develop action plans based on the objectives.
The key fundamentals to a successful Health and Safety Management System
The secret to a successful health and safety management system, is not only to determine and manage risks in the healthcare environment, but also analyze and continuously develop the system itself. In order to establish a successful and efficient health and safety management system in an organization, the following pillars should be upheld.
Good leadership and commitment-the key obligation of management in a health care organization should be to uphold the safety, health, and wellness of the personnel within the premises. This can be demonstrated through efficient leadership and staff participation. The management should outline tasks and responsibilities of all parties in the organization, implement strategies that promote the health safety to all people, show senior management commitment and finally establish credibility in the management.
Risk evaluation and hazard recognition- this help in identifying and evaluating risks within the workplace. The management can achieve this by developing a complete risk management program, identifying the legal needs of the company, conducting a go through evaluation to identify potential risks, setting up achievable goals and finally reviewing and analyzing employee and organizational indicators of risk (Hammaker & Tomlinson, 2011).
Risk management and control-after identifying and evaluating the dangers, the next phase will be to reduce the identified potential risks. The management can achieve this through implementing strategies that will prevent risks, uphold and advocate for safety culture and ensure efficient record keeping within the company.
Establishing corrective actions and evaluations- after putting up the intended control, it is very important for the company to ensure corrective actions are used to maintain the measures. In order to establish the intended corrective measures, the management should give feedbacks on improvements in safety performance, ensure that the set objectives are met, ensure that control measures are appropriate, ensure that procedures are in alignment with workplace hazards and finally ensure that all data and monitoring are recorded (The Stationery Office, 2006).
Continuous improvement and planned review- all the recorded information and notable changes in the organization after implementing the policies should be reviewed. In order to achieve this, the organization will be obliged to track safety objectives set by the company, scan the management for any successes or shortcomings, evaluate the management’s accountability, and finally evaluate the senior management’s decisions and actions (Nelson, 2006).
Leadership guide to patient safety
For leaders in a healthcare organizations to achieve patient safety and reliability. They should follow some guidelines that will help them achieve the intended target of ensuring patient safety (Hammaker & Tomlinson, 2011). The following are the guidelines that will help the organization achieve patient safety.
- Engage stakeholders in implementing patients related policies
- Build awareness to the staff and the patients within the premises
- Measure and evaluate performance over time.
- Support families and patients impacted by medical errors
- Align system incentives and system wide activities
- Improve reliability and redesign systems.
This guide has been approved by the many institutes of healthcare; it has helped these institutions’ gain skills on how to handle safety measure concerning patients.
Health and safety measures for health-care employees and waste workers
In order to achieve the intended safety measures and policies, the organization is obliged to adopt the following essential safety measure.
- Train its workers on the basics of a safe working environment.
- Provide clothing and equipment for employee protection.
- Set up an effective occupational health program that will include, medical surveillance and immunization
A healthcare organization should ensure that worker comprehend the potential risks associated with waste products. Workers at risk in a healthcare organization include maintenance workers, healthcare cleaners and those that dispose waste.
Workers protection
Transportation, treatment and disposal of waste involve handling of risk and dangerous materiel. The management responsible in healthcare waste should make sure that all potential risks are identified and that definite measures undertaken. A comprehensive risk evaluation undertaken by the company will enable it to identify and correct risks that are likely to harm the employees. After evaluating the risks, the management should design protective measures that will help prevent workers from exposure to hazardous material. Workers should be trained on:
Protective clothing-the type of protective clothing that will be used will depend on the risk attached to the healthcare waste; however the following equipments should be made available to all the waste works: eye protections, helmets, aprons, disposable gloves and face masks.
Boots and heavy gloves are particularly important to waste workers, the deep sole of the boots offer protection to workers in storage area, this will prevent piercing by needles and other sharp objects present in the area.
Personal hygiene- personal hygiene is very crucial while handling waste products. Disinfectants, warm water and soap should be readily available within the premises of a healthcare.
Immunization- hepatitis B infections in the past have been reported to have infected most of the healthcare workers. Immunization against this disease is very important; Tetanus is also recommendable to people handling waste.
Generally, workers should be educated on; waste segregation, appropriate packaging, waste identification and appropriate waste storage.
On the other hand, special measures should be taken in order to limit contact with potentially hazardous compounds including those that have a higher likelihood of splashing into the eyes. An example of a common precaution utilized in safety management entails the use of gas masks to offer prevention from toxic substances, which are often within the health care settings. Deductively, safety and space management is not limited to use of preventive measures only, but transcend to include response measures, particularly in case of injuries. Many at times, proper training of staff facilitates adequate response in cases of injury.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is advisable for a healthcare organization to educate its staff on how to maintain health and safety in the organization. The organization should introduce a training program where the employees are taught on their hygiene and proper maintenance of hazardous facilities in an organization. It is also recommendable for a healthcare organization to use the current software technology to manage the space of health care centers. The major fundamentals to a health and safety management system include; good leadership and commitment, risk evaluation and hazard recognition, risk management and control and a continuous improvement and planned review. Arguably, it is important for the management in a healthcare organization to have a good system that ensures safety and good hygiene for both the patients and medical professionals.
References
Hammaker, D. K., & Tomlinson, S. J. (2011). Health care management and the law: principles and applications. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar/Cengage Learning.
Nelson, A. (2006). Safe patient handling and movement: a guide for nurses and other health care providers. New York: Springer Pub. Co..
Policies and principles: best practice guidance for healthcare engineering. (2006). London: TSO (The Stationery Office).
Resources, I. (2005). Essentials for health care: improving health care quality and safety (5th ed.). Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.: Dept. of Publications, Joint Commission Resources.
Using the e-statement of conditions to manage health care facilities. (2007). Oakbrook Terrace, IL: Joint Commission Resources, Inc..
