General Safety Issues in the Hospitals

The safety issues surrounding hospitals are environmental for both hospital patients and hospital staff.

Environmental Issues

• The environmental issues employees and patients face are biological, psychological, physical and chemical hazards.

Hazards for Staff

• Biological hazards occur through personal contact between the patient and staff member. Psychological hazards may occur through stress. Physical hazards may occur from injury, radiation exposure and violence. Chemical hazards include the use of cleaning supplies, the handling of cancer drugs, exposure to X-ray chemicals, and the use of anesthetic gases in the operating room.

Patient Hazards

• Patient hazards include infections transmitted in the hospital, or nosocomial hazards. Injuries occur when proper treatment and supervision is lacking.

Safety Concerns

• Safety concerns surrounding these hazards include injury, illness, disease exposure, disaster management, evacuation implementation, food preparation and contaminated waste.

Staff and Patient Safety

• Hospitals are required to provide security for patients and staff. Mechanical, medical equipment, housekeeping, administrative and food staff play important roles in preventing all environmental hazards.