Oftentimes, hospitals and clinics are thought of a place where personal injury or negligence occurs to the people being treated. However, many fail to think of the fact that these medical facilities are also a workplace for the doctors, nurses and orderlies that attend to patients. Workplace injuries can occur quite easily due to dangerous medical equipment and possible emergency situations. A recent study has been released concerning the frequency of workplace injuries for nursing assistants and orderlies.
At the heart of this study, it discusses how many of these injuries could have been prevented. For example, orderlies suffer more musculoskeletal injuries than firefighters do. That is surprising since firefighters have dangerous and physically demanding jobs.
So why do orderlies suffer more injuries resulting in lost work days than firefighters do? A study and a case shed further light. The study focused on nurses and orderlies positioned within 38 Californian clinics. The firsthand accounts pointed to what type of injuries occur, how often and what might be done to prevent injuries from occurring. Meanwhile, in a case involving an investigation by California’s Division of Occupational Safety, a California judge issued an order that declared that the company had failed to have “specific procedures in place to ensure that sufficient staff was available to perform patient handling tasks safely.”
The company was given 90 days to remedy for the lack of safety procedures and equipment. This outcome shows how overlooked nursing assistant and orderly safety is within the medical profession. It is important that all levels of medical professionals become aware of the potential risks involved in the medical workplace. Luckily, this group of medical professionals received acknowledgement of their dangerous work environment.
Source: medcitynews.com, “Nursing assistants and orderlies are injured more than any other occupation,” Nicole Oran, Feb. 5, 2015
