If you think your practice has low odds of experiencing workplace injuries, you may be in for a surprise. Nearly two thirds of healthcare professionals are concerned that they’ll get injured at work this year. Another 94% of healthcare professionals say at-home care makes it even harder to stay safe, due to safety challenges.
That’s the word from a recent survey of 400 providers and 100 medical administrators, which also noted that burnout, stress and exhaustion were extremely common among healthcare professionals, leaving them vulnerable to accidents at work. These injuries can be challenging to deal with for both the practice and the staff members, and can put you at risk of OSHA fines and penalties.
Check out a few key tips that can help your practice avoid workplace injuries and keep your team safe.
Provide Non-Skid Footwear, Keep Floors Clear
In its Worker Safety guide, OSHA notes that slips and falls are among the most common ways that healthcare staff members are injuries. To avoid these types of injuries, you should consider employing the following strategies:
- Provide your staff members with non-skid footwear
- Install handrails in staircases and in high-traffic areas
- Secure carpets and mats to the floor
- Immediately clean up spills and use signage when floors are wet
- Pick up packages or boxes from the floor and move them to storage areas
- Have all necessary items at arm’s reach rather than requiring staff members to climb on stools
- Clean snow and ice off outdoor walkways and parking lots
Maintain Sharps Containers
Needle sticks and injuries from other sharp objects can happen at any time in medical practices, and the best way to keep your staff members safe from getting injured by these items is to use specific preventive strategies:
- Keep sharps containers in every examination room and empty those containers regularly so they never get too full
- Use retractable needles whenever possible
- Never leave sharps lying around
- Avoid passing sharps between staff members by hand. Instead, put them in a tray or box and hand that item to the other person
Know How to Defuse Angry Patients
When patients get angry, your staff members are at risk. By knowing how to defuse these situations, you can keep your staff safe using the following strategies:
- Start with a calm voice rather than raising your voice to their level
- Seek common ground and share empathy with patients
- If patients’ anger seems to be escalating or they make threats, call 911 immediately and put space between yourself and the patient
Train Staff Properly to Avoid Workplace Injuries
Many workplace injuries occur because staff members aren’t properly trained to protect against these issues. Make sure your practice has regular training sessions to ensure they not only know how to avoid common injuries, but that they feel comfortable enough to voice their opinions if they ever feel unsafe.
For instance, if the lighting in one of your examination rooms isn’t bright enough and a nurse feels it puts her at risk of a fall, she should feel comfortable enough to ask your practice manager to add lighting in the room.
If you want to avoid OSHA injuries, there’s much more to know. Let healthcare attorney Travis W. Vance, JD, help. During his 60-minute online training, OSHA Rules: Comply With Huge 2024 Update, Travis will walk you through the details you must know to prevent injuries and protect your staff. Sign up today!
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The post Healthcare Staffers Fear Workplace Injuries: Protect Your Team appeared first on Healthcare Training Leader.