Hygiene and Safety
Hygiene and Safety covers personal and environmental hygiene plus the measures that keep patients and workers free from avoidable injury: falls, fires, electricity, oxygen hazards and manual handling injuries.
Core rules
- Personal hygiene of the worker: short clean nails, no dangling jewellery, hair tied back, clean uniform changed daily, correct footwear, hand hygiene at every step.
- Environmental hygiene: clean floors kept dry, spillages mopped at once with a wet-floor sign, segregated waste, pest control, adequate light and ventilation, clean linen stored away from the floor.
- Fall prevention: identify high-risk patients, keep bed at low height with brakes locked, side rails up where appropriate, call bell within reach, floor free of clutter and wet patches, adequate lighting at night, assist to the toilet.
- Fire safety: RACE - Rescue those in immediate danger, Alarm, Contain the fire by closing doors, Extinguish or Evacuate. PASS for extinguishers: Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep. Never use lifts during a fire. Oxygen supports combustion, so no oil, grease, alcohol or flames near cylinders.
- Body mechanics: bend the knees, keep the load close, keep the back straight, lift with the leg muscles, avoid twisting, and get help or use a slide sheet for heavy patients.
- Identify every patient by two identifiers before any procedure.
Worked example
A waste bin catches fire in a store room. Reasoning: smoke and fire spread fast and oxygen cylinders may be nearby. You raise the alarm first, move anyone in danger, close the door to contain the fire, and phone the fire service. You do not throw water on an electrical fire or use the lift, and you only attempt extinguishing if trained and the fire is small.
Traps that cost marks
- Leaving a wet floor without a warning sign.
- Lifting a patient with the back bent and feet together.
- Allowing oil or alcohol near an oxygen source.
- Using a lift during a fire evacuation.