Search the hub
Showing results for tags 'Health and safety'.
Found 124 results
-
Content ArticleThe Piper Alpha exploded and sank on 6 July 1988, killing 165 of the men on board. Some of the lessons learned from the inquiry into the Piper Alpha Disaster could be applied to healthcare.
-
News ArticleThe Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has today published an overview report on the lessons learned from notifications of significant incident events in Ireland arising from accidental or unintended medical exposures in 2019. In 2019, HIQA received 68 notifications of significant events of accidental or unintended medical exposures to patients in public and private facilities, which is a small percentage of significant incidents relative to the total number of procedures taking place which can be conservatively estimated at over three million exposures a year.The most common errors reported were patient identification failures, resulting in an incorrect patient receiving an exposure. These errors happened at various points in the patient pathway which, while in line with previous reporting nationally and international data, highlights an area for improvement.John Tuffy, Regional Manager for Ionising Radiation, said “The overall findings of our report indicate that the use of radiation in medicine in Ireland is generally quite safe for patients. The incidents which were reported to HIQA during 2019 involved relatively low radiation doses which posed limited risk to service users. However, there have been radiation incidents reported internationally which resulted in severe detrimental effects to patients so ongoing vigilance and attention is required." John Tuffy, continued “As the regulator of medical exposures, HIQA has a key role in the receipt and evaluation of notifications received. While a significant event is unwanted, reporting is a key demonstrator of a positive patient safety culture. A lack of reporting does not necessarily demonstrate an absence of risk. Reporting is important, not only to ensure an undertaking is compliant but because it improves general patient safety in a service and can minimise the probability of future preventative events occurring.” Read full story Source: HIQA, 9 September 2020
-
Content ArticleSince January 2019, the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has been the competent authority for regulating medical exposure to ionising radiation in Ireland and receives incident notifications of significant events arising from accidental or unintended medical exposures. As part of its role, HIQA is responsible for sharing lessons learned from significant events. HIQA has published an overview report on the lessons learned from notifications of significant incident events in Ireland arising from accidental or unintended medical exposures in 2019. This report provides an overview of the findings from these notifications and aims to share learnings from the investigations of these incidents.
-
Content ArticleHealth is a universal human right and a main contributor to well-being, economic development, growth, wealth and prosperity for all. Health systems play a key role in protecting, restoring and maintaining the health of patients and populations. A well-trained, motivated and supported health workforce is the backbone of every health system and without them, there would be no healthcare. Health workers around the world are at the front line of the daily battle to contain diseases and to save lives while often risking their own health and lives. Poor and unsafe working conditions increase the risk of occupational diseases and injuries among health workers and jeopardize patient safety, quality of care and the overall resilience of health systems. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has drawn attention to significant gaps in the protection of health workers, emphasising the need to ensure that the occupational safety and health of health workers is a priority. This is fundamental if they are to be enabled to do their jobs and to protect the health of patients and populations. The development and implementation of national programmes for protecting the health and safety of all health workers is an effective way to ensure the application of national occupational safety and health legislation and policies tailored to the needs of the health sector. This World Health Organization (WHO) policy brief is intended to provide a short overview on the issues and recommendations for policy decision-makers in ministries of health and ministries of employment and labour; local authorities; managers of health facilities; professional associations of the various groups of health workers; and organizations of workers and employers in the health sector.
-
Content ArticleHazards and risks to workers’ safety and health should be identified and assessed on an ongoing basis. There are several ‘hierarchies of control measures’ in the health and safety field, each having an importance in its own right given the circumstances to which it is to be applied. This Health and Safety Blog explains the general hierarchy of control measures.
-
Content ArticleHazardous Hospitals is a Wellcome Trust Research Fellowship, exploring the history of safety in the British National Health Service.
-
Content Article
Vision Zero
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Other countries and national agencies
Accidents at work and occupational diseases are neither predetermined nor unavoidable – they always have causes. By building a strong prevention culture, these causes can be eliminated and work related accidents, harm and occupational diseases be prevented. 'Vision Zero' is a transformational approach to prevention that integrates the three dimensions of safety, health and well-being at all levels of work. Safe and healthy working conditions are not only a legal and moral obligation – they also pay off economically. International research on the return on investments in prevention proves that every dollar invested in safety and health generates a potential benefit of more than two dollars in positive economic effects. Healthy working conditions contribute to healthy business. The International Social Security Association (ISSA)'s Vision Zero concept is flexible and can be adjusted to the specific safety, health or well-being priorities for prevention in any given context. Thanks to this flexibility, Vision Zero is beneficial to any workplace, enterprise or industry in all regions of the world. The Vision Zero campaign has energised companies and organisations worldwide with the ambition to strive towards a world of work without accidents and illness. Behind every organization stand extraordinarily engaged people, and on these pages we give them visibility. Vision Zero ambassadors are outstanding individuals from the world of politics, science and sports who are engaged in safety, health and wellbeing. The ISSA has developed a range of resources to support the Vision Zero Campaign and the seven golden rules of Vision Zero. -
Content ArticleEach year more people die in health care accidents than in road accidents. Increasingly complex medical treatments and overstretched health systems create more opportunities for things to go wrong, and they do. Patient safety is now a major regulatory issue around the world, and Australia has been at its leading edge. Self-regulation by professional and industry groups is now widely regarded as insufficient, and government is stepping in. In Patient Safety First leading experts survey the governance of clinical care. Framed within a theory of responsive regulation, core regulatory approaches to patient safety are analysed for their effectiveness, including information systems, corporate and public institution governance models, the design of safe systems, the role of medical boards, open disclosure and public inquiries. Patient Safety First includes chapters by Bruce Barraclough, John Braithwaite, Stephen Duckett and Ian Freckleton SC. It is essential reading for all medical and legal professionals working in patient safety as well as readers in public health, health policy and governance.
-
Content ArticleThis interview is part of the hub's 'Frontline insights during the pandemic' series where Martin Hogan interviews healthcare professionals from various specialties to capture their experience and insights during the coronavirus pandemic. Here Martin interviews an advanced specialist paramedic working in central London with four years' experience of working on the frontline.
-
Content Article
Further serious patient safety incidents: why are staff still not being listened to when concerns are raised?
Anonymous posted an article in Whistle blowing
Due to COVID-19 and the safety issues the pandemic is highlighting, I have decided to write a sequel to my previous blog 'Dropped instrument, washed and immediately reused'. I am writing this because it recently came to my notice from colleagues that safety is once again being compromised in the same private hospital where my shifts were blocked after I reported a patient safety incident.- Posted
- 1 comment
-
- (and 14 more)
-
Content ArticleThis second comprehensive edition of these Principles is to help public authorities, industry and communities worldwide anticipate accidents involving hazardous substances resulting from technological and natural disasters, as well as sabotage. It addresses the following issues: preventing the occurrence of chemical accidents and near-misses; preparing for accidents through emergency planning, public communication, etc.; responding to accidents and minimising their adverse effects; and following-up to accidents, regarding clean-up, reporting and investigation.
-
Content ArticleLeaders, at all levels, need to understand the range of health and safety risks in their part of the organisation and to give proportionate attention to each of them. This applies to the level of detail and effort put into assessing the risks, implementing controls, supervising and monitoring. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) gives examples of effective and ineffective health and safety management to check if you are doing what you need to do on leadership.
-
Content ArticleThe Health & Safety Laboratory (HSL) Safety Climate Tool (SCT) measures the perceptions of the workforce on health and safety issues, offering a unique insight into the safety culture within an organisation. It can be applied across industries of all sizes, from SMEs to large complex organisations. Multi-site companies can also use it to look at the strengths and weaknesses of different sites or business units. The HSL SCT is delivered on a CD-ROM, which you install onto a suitable computer to allow you to produce a customised questionnaire that is then run across your organisation. Once the questionnaire survey has been run, the tool produces a series of automated charts that allow detailed analysis of the findings. (HSL is an agency of the Health and Safety Executive.)
-
Content ArticleBased on the Health & Safety Executive Guidance (HSE (2013) INDG451 ‘Heat Stress in the workplace’), Dr Susan Whalley-Lloyd has produced a document and flowchart addressing what happens to us when we experience extreme heat. This can be the result of extreme outside air temperature due to the weather or heat build-up in a work area due to equipment generating heat, or restricted workspace, or large areas of glass within a building, or air conditioning problems or windows that won’t open, or a combination of conditions eg high energy tasks whilst wearing PPE and few rest breaks for fluid intake.
-
News Article
Fault warning for Emerade 500 adrenaline pens
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
People carrying Emerade 500 microgram adrenaline auto-injector pens should return them and get hold of a prescription for a different brand. A fault has been detected in the pens, meaning the dose of adrenaline may not be delivered when needed for people with severe allergies. The official advice comes from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Alternative brands - EpiPen and Jext - are available up to 300 micrograms. "Action has been taken to protect patients, following detection of a fault in one component of the Emerade adrenaline auto-injector pens," an MHRA spokesperson said. "Patients should return all Emerade 500 microgram pens to their local pharmacy once they have a new prescription and have been supplied with pens of an alternative brand." If an Emerade pen does need to be used before a patient can get hold an alternative pen, the advice is that it should be pressed very firmly against the thigh. If this does not work, the patient should immediately use their second pen. Read full story Source: BBC News, 19 May 2020 -
Content ArticlePharmaswiss Česka republika s.r.o. (an affiliate of Bausch & Lomb UK Limited) is recalling all unexpired batches of Emerade 500 microgram auto-injectors (also referred to as pens) from patients due to an error in one component of the auto-injector believed to cause some pens to fail to activate and deliver adrenaline.
-
Content ArticleThe World Health Organization has produced a number of resources, in response to the coronavirus outbreak, to help members of the public know when they should wear a mask and how to put on, use, take off and dispose of a mask.
-
Content ArticleThis is the first edition of guidance on infection prevention and control (IPC) strategies for use when infection with a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) is suspected. It has been adapted from WHO’s Infection prevention and control during health care for probable or confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, based on current knowledge of the situation in China and other countries where cases were identified and experiences with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV and MERS-CoV.
-
Content Article
Misuse of hydrogen peroxide in a theatre environment
Kathy Nabbie posted an article in Good practice
A tutor once told me that research means 'to search again'. I am always searching or, as someone told me recently, 'sleuthing' for knowledge to improve myself and then share with my colleagues. I would like to share with you my knowledge of hydrogen peroxide. -
News Article
Dying doctor warns of asbestos ‘hidden epidemic’ caused by NHS failures
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A doctor and mother of two with just months left to live has warned of a “hidden epidemic” of asbestos-related cancers among NHS staff and patients because hospitals have failed to properly handle the toxic material. Kate Richmond, 44, has spoken out to raise awareness after she won a legal case against the NHS for negligently exposing her to asbestos while she was working as a medical student and junior doctor. An investigation by The Independent has learnt there have been 13 prosecutions linked to NHS breaches of regulations for the handling of asbestos since 2010, while 381 compensation claims have been made by NHS staff for work-related diseases, including exposure to asbestos, since 2013, costing the health service more than £26m. According to data from the Health and Safety Executive, between 2011 and 2017, a total of 128 people working in health and social care roles died from mesothelioma, the same asbestos-related cancer which is killing Kate Richmond. She described how maintenance staff removed asbestos ceiling tiles with no protective measures, allowing dust and debris to fall on to wards where patients were in their beds and staff were working. Managers at the Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry failed to heed warnings by workers that they were putting people at risk. Read full story Source: The Independent, 9 February 2020 -
Content ArticleThere has been an increase in the number of units providing anaesthesia for magnetic resonance imaging and the strength of magnetic resonance scanners, as well as the number of interventions and operations performed within the magnetic resonance environment. More devices and implants are now magnetic resonance imaging conditional, allowing scans to be undertaken in patients for whom this was previously not possible. There has also been a revision in terminology relating to magnetic resonance safety of devices. These guidelines, by the Association of Anaesthetists, have been put together by organisations who are involved in the pathways for patients needing magnetic resonance, reinforce the safety aspects of providing anaesthesia in the magnetic resonance environment and suggest that hospitals should develop and audit governance procedures to ensure that anaesthetists of all grades are competent to deliver anaesthesia in the magnetic resonance environment.
-
Content ArticleThe management of occupational health, safety and wellbeing is now central to the effective running of the NHS. There is strong evidence linking patient safety, patient experiences and the quality of care with the safety, health and wellbeing of the workforce. The Boorman review into the health and wellbeing of the NHS workforce clearly illustrates this link. However, looking after the health and wellbeing of staff is far more than supporting staff to develop health lifestyles: there is a legal duty to protect the health and safety of staff as detailed in the NHS Constitution. The NHS Staff Council’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing Partnership Group (HSWPG) have developed these standards through national partnership working to support NHS organisations in meeting their legal duties to protect staff from injury and illness.
-
Content ArticleSurgical fires are fires that occur in, on or around a patient undergoing a medical or surgical procedure. Surgical fires are rare but serious events. The ECRI Institute estimates that approximately 550 to 600 surgical fires occur each year in the USA. The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) is a collaborating partner of the FDA Preventing Surgical Fires Initiative. This initiative was launched to increase awareness of factors that contribute to surgical fires, disseminate surgical fire prevention tools, and promote the adoption of risk reduction practices throughout the healthcare community.
-
Content ArticleThe hospital environment is both unique and unusual in that electrical equipment is directly applied to the human body. From this contact either capacitive or resistive coupling may lead to current flow and harm. Surgical diathermy, patient monitoring and imaging, although universal, are often misunderstood, and many clinicians are ignorant of their principles and hazards. Electrical equipment in hospital therefore has the potential to lead to serious injury or death. This article published in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine outlines the basic physics of electricity, in particular the principles behind diathermy, the hazards posed by it and by other devices and the various measures available to reduce the risk of these.
-
Content Article
Managing healthcare fire safety (updated April 2013)
PatientSafetyLearning Team posted an article in Processes
This guidance (HTM 05-01) sets out the Department of Health’s policy on fire safety in the NHS in England. It includes best practice guidance on management arrangements for fire safety.
