Ensuring Scene Safety in Healthcare Environments

Scene Safety in Hospitals

Explore the importance of maintaining scene safety in both hospital and pre-hospital settings to ensure the well-being of patients and healthcare providers.

Unpredictable Hospital Scenarios

Hospital environments can present unpredictable circumstances:

• Patient Behaviour: Patient behaviour may become challenging, requiring careful assessment and management.
• Collisions: In scenarios like cardiac arrests, fast-paced activities can lead to collisions with trolleys and equipment.
• Surface Hazards: Wet floors, even with warning signs, can pose slip hazards during emergency situations.
• Medical Gases: The presence of medical gases, especially in oxygen-enriched environments, creates a potential fire hazard when using defibrillation.
• Sharps: Proper handling and disposal of sharps are essential to prevent injuries from misplaced or mishandled sharp objects.

Unpredictability in Pre-Hospital Care

Pre-hospital settings come with their unique challenges:

• Changing Patient Behaviour: Patients' behaviour can rapidly change due to illness, injury, or pain, necessitating vigilance during assessment and treatment.
• Environmental Factors: Pre-hospital scenes may involve moving traffic, aggressive dogs, and violent patients, adding to the complexity and unpredictability of the situation.
• Real-Life Example: A personal account of an incident involving an intoxicated individual with a knife highlights the sudden and unexpected nature of pre-hospital emergencies.

Always stay alert, anticipate potential dangers, and have contingency plans in place to ensure the safety of both patients and healthcare providers in these ever-changing environments.