skip to main content

Safety of Health Care Workers A Priority for Patient Safety

*Maiga Ayub Hussein  -  Islamic University in Uganda, Uganda
Dwi Sutiningsih  -  Universitas Diponegoro, Indonesia
Chebet Frida  -  Islamic University in Uganda, Uganda

Citation Format:
Abstract

Background: Worldwide healthcare workforce represents 12%, in Uganda, out of the 39000 healthcare workers (HCW), 500 have been deployed at Mbale regional referral hospital (MRRH). The deficient quality service delivery is attributed to adverse occupational health risk that are not addressed and acknowledged posing a great risk to patient safety. Study aims to investigate the unsafe acts and unsafe working conditions of health care workers at (MRRH).

Methods: A quantitative observational study with a cross-section design was used using and a semi structured observation checklist for data collection among 120 health care workers of MRRH.

Result: 45(37.5%) of the HCW never wore the necessary PPEs versus 75(62.5%) who wore, almost half 55(45.3%) worked over time and 65(54.6%) did not, as well the same figures represent those who over worked and those who did not over work respectively. 70% of the working places had defective working conditions for example no lighting, slippery floors and no danger signs. 75% of the wards had improper waste segregation measures.

Conclusion : HCW and institutions should intervene to mitigate the hazards, strengthening occupational health, patient safety, hazard prevention and control

Fulltext View|Download
Keywords: Safety; health care worker; patient

Article Metrics:

  1. Ndejjo, R. et al. 2015. ‘Occupational Health Hazards among Healthcare Workers in Kampala , Uganda’, 2015
  2. Charney, W. 2009. Handbook of modern hospital safety, second edition, Handbook of Modern Hospital Safety, Second Edition
  3. Madziatera, D. et al. 2020 ‘Availability, accessibility and proper use of personal protective equipment in wards at queen elizabeth central hospital (Qech) blantyre, malawi: An observational study’, Malawi Medical Journal, 32(3), pp. 124–131. doi: 10.4314/mmj.v32i3.4
  4. Professor Daniel Prajogo et. Al. 2021 ‘and Safety ( OHS ): Protecting the Indonesian Healthcare Workforce during the COVID-19 Pandemic’, Occupational Health and Safety (OHS): Protecting the Indonesian Healthcare Workforce during the COVID-19 Pandemic
  5. ILO .2017. Improving employment and working conditions in health services
  6. Al-khatib, I. A., Eleyan, D. and Garfield, J. 2016. ‘A system dynamics approach for hospital waste management in a city in a developing country : the case of Nablus , Palestine’, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. doi: 10.1007/s10661-016-5487-9
  7. Cho, E. et al. 2015 ‘Effects of nurse staffing, work environments, and education on patient mortality: An observational study’, International Journal of Nursing Studies, 52(2), pp. 535–542. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2014.08.006
  8. Disaster Management Institute. 2021. ‘The Domino Theory - Management Platform for Human Resource Development in the Field of Industrial Disaster Risk Management’, Disaster Management Institute. Available at: http://www.hrdp-idrm.in/e5783/e17327/e24075/e27357/
  9. HaSPA (Health and Safety Professionals Alliance). 2012 The Core Body of Knowledge for Generalist OHS Professionals, OHS Body of Knowledge. Available at: http://www.ohsbok.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/32-Models-of-causation-Safety.pdf

Last update:

No citation recorded.

Last update:

No citation recorded.