Health and Safety in Health Care

Health and Safety in Health Care

Hazards

A hazard is anything that can cause harm and we are faced with many potential hazards everyday that can affect us. In a general hospital there are many risks that could cause a potential hazard.

Wet floors are a big potential hazard. Hospitals have to wash floors everyday to avoid bacteria and people on the ward can slip if there shoes have no grip. This can cause back injuries to the spine, broken bones, bruising and in worst case permanent damage like paralysing a person.

Infection and bacteria are also a big potential hazard in a general hospital. This can cause colds which can be easily medicated or MRSA which is a serious bacterial infection. MRSA can cause meningitis which in the worse case could lead to amputation of the limbs or death, pneumonia which can severely effect your respiration, septicaemia which can lead to failed organs and even death, and other serious infections.

Medicines are a potential hazard in a hospital. Carelessness when giving medication can put an individual at risk. Medication could be given at a wrong dose or even to a person who doesn’t need medication. Giving the wrong medication or a higher dose can in the worst case lead to death. For example in 2005, two nurses gave a baby boy a dose of a drug to slow his heart, the dose was 10 times more then needed and he died.

Manual handling is a potential hazard too. By not planning how you’re going to lift something you could seriously injure your back or other body parts. Repetitive lifts may over time cause fatigue. To prevent this, the NHS has encourages patients to try to move independently if they can. You should plan ever lift and try to us an lifting aid when possible.

Hygiene is another potential hazard in a general hospital. Food hygiene is plays a big part in hospitals, food must be cooked thoroughly and the chefs must avoid cross contamination, if not followed the patient can get food poisoning with the side effects of vomiting and diarrhoea or...

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