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Showing results for tags 'Health hazards'.
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News ArticleA patient was left traumatised when his body caught on fire halfway through surgery - leaving his insides scorched. Mark, 52, went to hospital for a routine abscess removal - but woke up to the news that a freak accident in theatre had sparked an horrific blaze. A diathermy machine, used to stop bleeding, caused a swab to catch fire - before flames burnt their way through his exposed flesh, Mark explained. It took over a year for Mark - not his real name - to recover from his dreadful injuries - and the emotional scarring it caused. Between 2008 and 2018, 37 cases were ackn
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Surgical fires, a clear and present danger (April 2010)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Surgery
The authors found that fire occurs when the three elements of the fire triad, fuel, oxidiser and ignition, coincide. Surgical fires are unusual in the absence of an oxygen-enriched atmosphere. The ignition source is most commonly diathermy but lasers carry a relatively greater risk. The majority of fires occur during head and neck surgery. This is due to the presence of oxygen and the extensive use of lasers. The risk of fire can be reduced with an awareness of the risk and good communication. Surgery will always carry a risk of fire. Reducing this risk requires a concerted effort from al -
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Hazardous Hospitals: research project
PatientSafetyLearning Team posted an article in Research
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Content ArticleReminder: Advise patients not to: smoke; use naked flames (or be near people who are smoking or using naked flames); or go near anything that may cause a fire while emollients are in contact with their medical dressings or clothing. Change patient clothing and bedding regularly—preferably daily—because emollients soak into fabric and can become a fire hazard. Incidents should be reported.
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Content ArticleHazardous Hospitals: Cultures of Safety in NHS General Hospitals, c.1960-Present is a three-year research project at the University of Warwick, funded by the Wellcome Trust. It is being conducted by Dr Christopher Sirrs. The publication of the Francis Report into healthcare failures at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust in 2013 dramatically refocused public and political attention on issues of ‘safety’ in the National Health Service. ‘Safety’ has increasingly occupied the attention of policy makers in recent decades, with hospital managers establishing various systems and processes to
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Woman dies after being set on fire during surgery in Romania
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A woman has died after being set on fire during surgery in Romania, the country’s health ministry has said, in a case that has cast a spotlight on the ailing Romanian health system. The patient, who had pancreatic cancer, died on Sunday after suffering burns to 40% of her body when surgeons used an electric scalpel despite her being treated with an alcohol-based disinfectant. Contact with the flammable disinfectant caused combustion and the patient “ignited like a torch”, Emanuel Ungureanu, a Romanian politician, said. A nurse threw a bucket of water on the 66-year-old woman to -
Content ArticleResources: driver diagrams (tree diagrams) the health and wellbeing framework and diagnostic tool workforce stress and the supportive organisation — a framework for improvement.
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Content ArticleFollowing the recent House of Commons debate on the prevention of surgical fires in the NHS, the AfPP is calling for: the Expert Working Group to reconvene and produce guidance on the prevention of surgical fires for review by NHS England. the four recommendations made by the Expert Working Group in their 2020 report to be implemented in both the NHS and the independent sector: Professional associations to explore the value of a national awareness campaign for healthcare professionals. Mandating of surgical perioperative education and training syllabus on surgical
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'Not fit for purpose': UK medics condemn Covid-19 protection
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Frontline NHS staff are at risk of dying from Covid-19 after the protective gear requirements for health workers treating those infected were downgraded last week, doctors and nurses have warned. Hospital staff caring for the growing number of those seriously ill with the disease also fear that they could pass the infection on to other patients after catching it at work because of poor protection. Doctors who are dealing most closely with Covid-19 patients – A&E medics, anaesthetists and specialists in acute medicine and intensive care – are most worried. A doctor in an infe -
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News ArticleHospitals across England could see oxygen supplies at worse levels this winter than at the peak of the first coronavirus wave – when some sites were forced to close to new admissions. An alert to NHS hospitals this week warned that because of the rise in admissions of COVID-19 patients, there is a risk of oxygen shortages. Trusts have been ordered to carry out daily checks on the amount of oxygen in the air on wards to reduce the risk of catastrophic fires or explosions. The problem is not because of a lack of oxygen but because pipes delivering the gas to wards will not be able
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Patient Safety Authority: Surgical fires
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Surgery
In 2012, the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority published an analysis of surgical fires reported through its database for the primary purpose of determining whether surgical fires continued to be a problem. In 2018, the Authority published an update, including analysis of events reported from 1 July 2011 through to 30 June 2016. The model suggests a 71% decrease in the patient risk of surgical fires from 2005 to 2016. The analysts noted that in 2005, there was about one surgical fire per month in Pennsylvania, and, if the downward trend continues, the rate will be only one surgical fir -
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Electrosurgery. Managing the risk (September 2004)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Surgery
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Content ArticleThis action plan includes details of the event, notable practice, improvements to be made and the learning found.
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Prevention of and response to surgical fires (1 August 2019)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Surgery
Key points Communication between members of the surgical team is an integral component of the prevention of surgical fires. Open delivery of 100% oxygen should be avoided if at all possible for surgery above the xiphoid process. Surgeons usually control the ignition sources, such as electrosurgical units and lasers. Operating theatre nurses or practitioners usually control the fuel sources, such as alcohol-based preparations and surgical drapes. The use of an ignition source in close proximity of an oxidiser-enriched environment creates a high risk for surgical fir -
Content ArticleFollowing incidents where bottles of liquefied phenol 80% were either confused with other medication or caused burns when spilt, this alert asks providers to eliminate its use and to follow professional guidance to use safer alternatives. Phenol, a caustic compound used for its antimicrobial, anaesthetic, and antipruritic properties, is highly toxic and corrosive. Liquefied phenol 80% can cause burns, severe tissue injury and is rapidly and well absorbed causing systemic toxicity. It is most commonly used in podiatry and orthopaedic foot surgery for destroying the nail matrix. Action
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News ArticleA baby with a serious heart condition has died after she received an infection from mould in a Seattle hospital's operating room, her mother says. Elizabeth Hutt was born with a heart condition that she battled for the entirety of her six-month-long life. The young child underwent three open heart surgeries, and after the third one is when it's believed she contracted an Aspergillus mould infection in the hospital's operating room. The mould in the hospital's operating rooms was first detected in November, around the same time as the child's third surgery. It was later determ
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How I raised awareness of fires in the operating theatre
Kathy Nabbie posted an article in Surgery
Here is the FRAS tool I implemented: Fire risk assessment tool.pdf Other useful resources I found: Scoring_Fire_Risk-2.pdf Surgical Site Fire Triangle.pdf Surgical_Fire_Poster (1).pdf Video: Fire hazard demo by Zaamin Hussain and Mike Reed Demonstration: "Burning Bruce" drives home the reality of surgical fires - article in Outpatient Surgery- Posted
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Brighton Anaesthesia FFP3 Donning & Doffing
Claire Cox posted an article in Good practice and useful resources
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Majority of GPs do not have sufficient coronavirus protective equipment
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Two out of five GPs have still not received any personal protective equipment (PPE) against coronavirus, a Pulse survey suggests. The poll of over 400 GPs saw 41% of respondents say they have not received any PPE, while a further 32% said they had not received enough. Just 15% of GPs said they have sufficient PPE, with the remainder unsure. This comes despite NHS England promising last week that it would ship PPE free of charge to practices. The Welsh Government made the same announcement this week, while in Scotland health boards should be distributing PPE. A GP who has re -
Content ArticleThis document is accompanied by: general advice and advice for hospital inpatients supporting information for healthcare staff including background and findings posters in English and Welsh Health and Safety Laboratory report FS/06/12 ‘Fire hazards associated with contamination of dressings and clothing by paraffin based ointments’ examples of products containing paraffin warning / hazard stickers for products a patient safety video leaflets in English and Welsh. Although the deadline for actions has passed, this guidance remains best practic
