An Occupational Health Hazard In A Modern Hospital - Admission/Application Essay Example

This study will deal with the types of hazards encountered in the British health service, their effect upon employee ill health, the influence that ill-health has on the quality of work and finally methods of intervention/manager reponsibilities. While for the sake of clarity these various aspects are dealt with separately within this analysis, in reality they often occur simultaneously. Thus a particular hazard (such as the potential for needle-sticks) may produce an immediate effect - needle stick occurring, or may be avoided through previous training (intervention).

Manual handling hazards involve the "transporting or supporting of a load by hand or bodily force" (management, 2002). The main risks involved with handling for healthcare workers include the movement of equipment and especially the movement of patients within their hospital beds. There are three main types of risk within manual handling: Accidental injury in which a piece of equipment or a patient falls on a healthcare professional is fairly obvious, but cumulative damage may be more subtle and yet also more debilitating in the long run.

A healthcare center, whether it is a large teaching hospital or a single GP practice has innate risks involved with . The main risks involved with handling for healthcare workers include the movement of equipment and especially the movement of patients within their hospital beds. There are three main types of risk within manual handling:1) Accidental injury (falling or being trapped by load)2) Over extension (stretching/straining because of a heavy load)3) Cumulative damage from years of load bearing and poor posture.

Accidental injury in which a piece of equipment or a patient falls on a healthcare professional is fairly obvious, but cumulative damage may be more subtle and yet also more debilitating in the long run. It is possible to alleviate poorly designed beds or inadequately designed medical equipment, but much more difficult to change work conditions that require constant manual handling.1.2 Biological AgentsA healthcare center, whether it is a large teaching hospital or a single GP practice has innate risks involved with it form exposure to the biological agents that are causing illness in the first place.

These may be in the form of airborne viruses and bacteria, or through needle-sticks. The latter is a particularly worrying hazard because of biological agents such as HIV that can be transmitted through a single needle-stick. 1.3 CarcinogensMedical facilities are, by nature, full of substances and solutions that may be carcinogenic in nature. These range from cytotoxic drugs and formaldehyde to the various pieces of medical equipment that use radiation. The latter is of particular importance to workers in x-ray units where the cumulative effects of radiation over a number of years may lead to a potentially carcinogenic dose over a lifetime of work. 1.4 Respiratory