Healthcare offices can be chaotic, which leads to errors. Ensure everyone’s well-being by becoming aware of common safety mistakes medical facilities make.
Hospitals and healthcare clinics are supposed to be safe places for patients and providers alike. However, accidents happen in even the most secure spaces; poor planning, miscommunication, and simple human error contribute to unsafe conditions for everyone.
Maintaining the health and well-being of employees and patients starts with a safe culture. Although, you can’t fix your current processes if you don’t know which problems to look for. Identifying these common safety mistakes medical facilities make in your own practice is a good place to begin.
Insufficient Shift Change Communication
Good communication is the backbone of every successful medical facility. Without it, providers won’t know how to care for certain patient needs. Insufficient shift-change communication leads to medication, diagnoses, and treatment mistakes.
After working long days, wanting to clock out as quickly as possible is understandable. However, physicians and nurses should always take the time to pass along relevant information to their relief. This way, patients receive the high-quality care they deserve, no matter who’s on duty.
Poor Hazardous Waste Handling
It’s no secret that medical facilities deal with hazardous materials. Blood, other bodily fluids, medical cases, and chemicals can cause harm if people don’t dispose of them properly. You may also get into civil and legal trouble by mishandling hazardous waste.
To avoid hazardous waste violations, make sure you store your facility’s materials the right way. Appoint a safety manager to draft and distribute new hazardous waste policies that abide by EPA and OSHA standards. Always have a hazardous waste emergency plan in place to protect employees and patients in case things go wrong.
Improper Wearing of PPE
Personal protection equipment (PPE) keeps providers safe from contagious diseases. It also helps prevent healthy patients from catching viruses in a medical setting. However, a common safety mistake medical facilities make is improperly wearing PPE.
Sometimes, improper training leads to employees wearing, taking off, or disposing of PPE the wrong way. Some facilities may even struggle to keep enough PPE on site if they have uncontrollable virus breakouts. To ensure correct PPE usage, take time to train everyone on best practices.
Healthcare Worker Burnout
Doctors, nurses, technicians, and staff members hold a vital role in our society. However, the system doesn’t always treat them as such, leading to extreme instances of employee burnout. Tired, overworked practitioners can mean a higher turnover rate at your facility, which creates an unsafe environment for everyone.
You must adequately staff your hospital so professionals have the support they need. Don’t just encourage breaks; enforce them so employees return to work refreshed and ready for any situation. Have an open door policy for people to express their frustrations. Sometimes, all someone needs is to feel like leadership is hearing them in order to perform better.
Outdated Facility Design
Not all medical practices have the privilege of a brand-new facility. Outdated building designs don’t always have the right accessibility requirements for safe care. Generally, old facilities are harder to clean and more expensive to maintain.
Update your hospital with new technology to meet your patients’ needs. You should also remodel the floor plan for better traffic flow.
You take an oath as a medical professional to provide the best care for everyone. Avoiding mistakes will help you achieve your ultimate healthcare goals.
