Safety

Tip of the week: Review OSHA’s healthcare workplace violence guidelines

Hospital Safety Connection, November 12, 2008

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A story about assaults on nurses in the Boston area should remind everyone that while OSHA doesn’t have a workplace violence standard, it does have guidelines that inspectors have used in the past to cite hospitals.
 
The Massachusetts Nurses Association said its members are dealing with a growing amount of violent patients and their relatives, The Boston Globe reported this week.
 
In its 1998 Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Service Workers, OSHA seeks to reduce the risk of patient violence toward medical staff members.

The guidelines aren't mandatory, but they do reference the agency's general duty clause, which says employers must provide a safe workplace for employees.
 
The Massachusetts Nurses Association is promoting a proposed law to criminalize assaults on healthcare workers, The Globe said.



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