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Preventing the most common accidents among your hospital’s workers

Hospital Safety Insider, September 8, 2016

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Workplace hazards are all too plentiful in healthcare environments. For example, in February 2014, there was a chemical mix-up in which a maintenance worker working near the pool accidentally poured a gallon of muriatic acid into a barrel of chlorine, which led to a hospital evacuation; fortunately, no one was injured.

An earlier case in October 2013 proved more severe when a worker at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., passed away following a routine maintenance call.

While accidents can happen to anyone, mishaps can be aggravated when workers get used to doing routine tasks. According to Marge McFarlane, PhD, MT(ASCP), CHSP, CHFM, HEM, MEP, CHEP, principal of Superior Performance in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, this repetition can lead to what she calls a "conscious acceptance of obvious and familiar risk."

"We get so used to doing something that we forget how hazardous it is because we've done it successfully so many times," she says. "We forget the dangers."

This is an excerpt from the monthly healthcare safety resource Briefings on Hospital Safety. Subscribers can read the rest of the article here. Non-subscribers can find out more about the journal, its benefits, and how to subscribe by clicking here.
 

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