Workplace safety: Hazards

As a nursing assistant, you need to know how to prevent hazards in your healthcare facility that could pose risk of injury to you, your co-workers, and clients.

We will be talking about some of these hazards, which include falls, entrapment, chemical injuries, and electrical shock.

Alright, let’s start with falls. Falls are the most common type of accident in healthcare facilities; they can lead to fractures, like hip fractures, and head injuries, which could be life-threatening.

There are a few factors that increase the client’s risk of falls. These risk factors can be related to the client and their condition or to the healthcare settings.

Okay, so one risk factor that increases a client’s risk of falls is the age of the client, where the older the client is, the higher their risk of falling.

Another factor is the client’s mental status, where they could be experiencing confusion or delirium. Other risk factors include medical conditions that cause muscle weakness or musculoskeletal problems; dizziness; and orthostatic hypotension, which is when the client’s blood pressure falls when they move from a sitting position to a standing position.Also, the client’s risk for falls increases if they need to rush to the bathroom often due to issues like urinary incontinence.

Finally, there are certain medications that increase the risk of falls, such as sedatives and anesthetic drugs, which affect the client’s mental status, and antihypertensive medications that lower the blood pressure.Now, healthcare setting or facility risk factors that increase the risk of falls include a bed left in a high position; lack of bedrail use; and tubes, bags, and catheters attached to the client.

Other facility risk factors include inadequate lighting; lack of grab bars, like in hallways or stairways; and wet or slippery floors.Also, the use of canes, wheelchairs, and crutches that do not properly fit the client, like a cane that's too long or too short or a wheelchair of inappropriate size, makes them more prone to fall.

There are few things you can do to help prevent falls and protect your clients. First, identify the client's risk of falls at admission.

This can be determined from the nurse's assessment of the client, which includes checking their mental status, current medications, and for signs of unsteadiness or imbalance.

If the client's fall risk is high, their room should be close to the nursing station, so they can be closely observed. Also, set the bed height to its lowest level and lock the wheels as this decreases the extent of injury in case the client falls.

Check the client’s walkers, canes, and wheelchairs to make sure they fit the client and that they’re in good condition to use.

Additionally, ensure that the client is using them correctly. Clean any fluid spills on floors immediately to avoid slipping.

Finally, encourage the client to use grab bars in hallways and stairways when they walk. A bed or chair alarm can also alert you when high-risk clients get out of bed, so you can check to make sure they have not fallen.

Alright, the next hazard is entrapment, which occurs when the client’s body becomes stuck or trapped in between the different parts of their bed.

Injuries from entrapment could be mild, like skin abrasions or tears, or serious, like suffocation and death. Now, there are five main parts of the client’s bed, which include bed rails, head- and foot-boards, mattress, and bed attachments.

Clients can become stuck in spaces between any of these parts, which are known as entrapment zones. There are seven entrapment zones: Zone 1 is within the rail itself, zone 2 is between the top of the mattress and the bottom of the bed rails, zone 3 is between the mattress and bed rails, zone 4 is between the top of the mattress and the bottom of the end of the bedrail, zone 5 is between split bed rails, zone 6 is between the end of the bed rail and the side edges of the head- or foot-board, and zone 7 lies between the mattress and the head- or the foot-board.

Okay, there are clients with certain risk factors for entrapment whom you should check frequently to make sure they’re not entrapped.

These include elderly clients; those who are confused or disoriented, physically weak, disabled, or have a small body size that may get entrapped easily; and those who are restrained.

Also, make sure to frequently check clients who are restless or have poor muscle control. Alright, entrapment can be prevented by reducing the size of the gaps between different parts of the bed.

This can be done by using an appropriately sized mattress or by covering or filling the gaps with special covers or objects.Next up are chemical injuries.

Healthcare facilities use different chemicals that could be hazardous and cause serious injuries that adversely affect client’s health.

Hazardous chemicals can affect any part of the body, including the nervous system, lungs, kidneys, skin, and eyes. Also, some chemicals can affect fertility in both men and women, while others can affect pregnant women and can result in miscarrigae and birth defects.

Some chemicals, like benzene, are carcinogenic, meaning they cause cancer. Additionally, some chemicals are flammable and can start a fire or cause an explosion.

Exposure to hazardous chemicals can be caused by equipment failure, like the release of mercury from thermometers and blood pressure measurement devices that contain mercury when they break, or by the rupture of containers and spillage of their contained chemicals, like disinfectant; cleaners; and many medications, like chemotherapy drugs.

Now, every chemical in the healthcare facility must have a safety data sheet, or SDS, which is developed by its manufacturer.

The safety data sheet contains information about the chemical, such as its name, its ingredients, the way to handle and store it safely, its adverse effects on various parts of the body, and the first aid measures in case of exposure.

Now, as a nursing assistant, you should know how to prevent chemical injuries in your healthcare facility. First, make yourself familiar with all chemicals in your workplace by reading their labels and following the information in their safety data sheets.

Make sure that the location where you’re handling the chemicals is well-ventilated. Don’t mix different chemicals together as this may cause otherwise harmless chemicals to become dangerous.

Place chemicals in their original containers and close them properly. Don’t use empty chemical containers for other purposes, like storing things.

When cleaning chemical spills, wear personal protective equipment as directed by that chemical’s safety data sheet. After handling any chemical, wash your hands thoroughly.Now the last hazard that you need to be aware of is electrical shock.

This occurs when an electrical current flows through the body, leading to injury of tissues and organs. This includes burns to the skin; damage to muscles and nerves; and affected heartbeat, which can lead to death.

Electrical shock occurs when a person comes into contact with an electrical energy source. So, if there’s a fault in an electrical device, like if the wiring is exposed, the electrical current may flow to the person touching it, causing an electrical shock.

To decrease the risk of electrical shock, most electrical equipment is grounded nowadays; this means that they have a three-pronged plug, where two wires carry the electrical current to the device, and the third one provides a route for any stray electrical currents to go back to the outlet and then to the ground.Okay, so there are a few signs that indicate faulty electrical equipment that you should be on alert for, such as a device that has a loose plug, flickering or dimming lights, buzzing or sizzling sounds, a burning scent, or if you get a shock when you touch it.

Now, to prevent electrical shocks, be sure to follow your facility’s policy when using electrical equipment. If you’re unfamiliar with a piece of equipment, do not interact with it until you have received the necessary training.

Make sure cords and equipment are in a good condition for use. Be alert for any faulty electrical equipment; don’t use them and don’t let clients use them.

Instead, take the equipment to the nurse for direction on whether to send the device for repair or if it should be discarded.

If a client brings an electrical device with them, make sure that the device is checked by the maintenance team before use.

Use three-pronged plugs on all electrical devices as this allows for grounding. Keep electrical devices away from water and don’t touch them when you’re wet.

Also, keep electrical cords away from heat sources, like heating vents. Another safety measure is to turn devices off and then unplug them from the outlet when not in use.

Finally, use outlet safety covers to cover outlets if necessary, like if there are children who may play with it. All right, as a quick recap… As a nursing assistant, you should know how to prevent injuries from hazards in your workplace including falls, entrapment, chemical injuries, and electrical shock.

Falls can be prevented by determining the client's risk of fall at admission and checking on them frequently, cleaning any fluid spills on floors, and encouraging clients to use grab bars in stairways and hallways when walking.

Entrapment occurs when a client becomes stuck between parts of the bed, which may cause serious injuries, like suffocation.

Chemical injuries can occur in healthcare facilities due to the presence of many chemicals that are used on a daily basis, such as disinfectants and chemotherapeutic drugs.

You can prevent chemical injuries by being familiar with each chemical in your workplace. All chemical manufacturers supply a safety data sheet, or SDS, for each chemical, which contains information, such as how to handle the chemical safely, its adverse effects, and what to do when somebody gets exposed to it.

Finally, electrical shock occurs when an electrical current passes through the person's body and can cause damage to any organ in the body, like the heart, lungs, kidneys, muscles and skin.

Electrical shocks can be prevented by using grounded electrical equipment, being alert for any sign of faulty electrical equipment, and avoiding using them until they’re checked by the maintenance