(Unsplash CC0)

Staff safety is of pivotal concern within any healthcare environment. 

While patient care is also paramount, practice owners need to take steps to protect the wellbeing of all the people who work for them. This is true within any type of healthcare practice, as safety must be prioritized for dentists, doctors, nurses, care staff, and all other types of healthcare professionals. 

Staff safety protocols need to be put in place to protect them from such threats as the risk of infection, work-related injuries, dangerous patients, and workplace violence. 

If you’re running a healthcare business, the welfare of your employees needs to be a priority to you. Here are some of the ways you can improve staff safety.

#1: Consider the risks to your employees

Not every healthcare practice is the same, so consider the risks that pertain to your particular business. Is there a risk of infectious diseases? Could your employees overexert themselves when handling patients? Do they come into contact with needles, toxic substances, or equipment that could cause an injury if not used properly?

List all the ways in which your employees could be put at risk and then create risk assessments, with steps in place to minimize any potential threat. This risk assessment toolkit might be useful to you when you’re in the process of designing or re-designing your healthcare facility, for example. 

#2: Take action to reduce risks

The action you take depends on the nature of your practice. 

You might need to provide specific pieces of safety equipment, including masks and gloves for employees working in areas where there are infection risks. It’s tremendously important to secure high-quality safety equipment for all your staff.

For gloves, medical-grade nitrile or latex disposables are the ideal choices. From masks to protective clothing, all safety equipment should be made for medical purposes to offer the best protection to your hardworking healthcare workers.

If your healthcare practice is in need of medical waste removal, you should work with a company specializing in bio hazardous waste pickup. And if patients pose a threat to your employees, you should make sure they have alarms and backup during moments where they feel in danger.

Consider your healthcare business, and take the necessary steps to protect your employees. 

#3: Create a culture of safety

Everybody needs to know that safety is a top priority, from the execs on your leadership group right down to the staff who are working on the frontline. Work together to create safety plans, and hold regular meetings to discuss concerns and potential risks. Make sure your employees always have somebody to turn to should they feel unsafe and encourage everybody to follow your health and safety protocols. 

#4: Offer regular training courses

Staff safety depends on the training your practice provides, so make sure everybody has access to online and offline training programs. Refresher courses need to be a regularity too, especially when new ways of staying safe to come into being. Training courses can include:

• Patient handling and ergonomics
• Infection control
• Managing patient conflict
• Equipment management

There will be specific courses that pertain to your business, so consider the needs of your employees, and find training to match.

There are many ways to improve staff safety in healthcare, above and beyond the suggestions we have made here. For the sake of your employees and the wider needs of your organization, do whatever you need to do to make staff safety your priority.