The safety issues surrounding hospitals are environmental for both hospital patients and hospital staff.
Environmental Issues
The environmental issues employees and patients face are biological, psychological, physical and chemical hazards.
Hazards for Staff
Biological hazards occur through personal contact between the patient and staff member. Psychological hazards may occur through stress. Physical hazards may occur from injury, radiation exposure and violence. Chemical hazards include the use of cleaning supplies, the handling of cancer drugs, exposure to X-ray chemicals, and the use of anesthetic gases in the operating room.
Patient Hazards
Patient hazards include infections transmitted in the hospital, or nosocomial hazards. Injuries occur when proper treatment and supervision is lacking.
Safety Concerns
Safety concerns surrounding these hazards include injury, illness, disease exposure, disaster management, evacuation implementation, food preparation and contaminated waste.
Staff and Patient Safety
Hospitals are required to provide security for patients and staff. Mechanical, medical equipment, housekeeping, administrative and food staff play important roles in preventing all environmental hazards.
Tags: hazards include, hazards occur, hazards occur through, occur through