Lesson 9

Occupational
Health and Safety
What is OHS?
Occupational Health Safety (OHS) is primarily
concerned with the overall well-being of the
workers by implementing health and safety
standards in the workplace.

OHS aims to:

1.Promote the physical, mental, and social well-being of
every worker.
2.Create workplace that is conducive to the welfare of
the workers.
3.Remove or reduce possible hazards and risks that are
detrimental to workers’ health and safety; and
4.Increase workers’ productivity by keeping them safe
and healthy.
Types of Hazards in Nursing Homes
and1.Physical
HospitalsHazards – these are hazards that
are brought by unsafe working conditions.

Examples: Poor Ventilation, Air and Noise

Pollution, Poor lighting, improper electrical
wirings and frayed cords, slippery floors,
broken windows, and creaking doors..
Types of Hazards in Nursing Homes
and2.Hospitals
Biological Hazards – these are hazards that
may come from workers or patients with
infections or diseases and also from
contaminated human wastes containing
bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites.
Types of Hazards in Nursing Homes
and Hosptals
Working in nursing homes, hospitals, daycare
centers, and laboratories have higher risks of
exposure to these hazards than those in other
occupations.
Types of Hazards in Nursing Homes
and Hospitals
3. Ergonomic Hazards – these are
hazards that are bought by the nature
of work related to
workers’ body positions (long hours of
standing and carrying and lifting
heavy objects)
working conditions ( working with
machines producing continuous
noises)
Some of the Ergonomic Hazards that
a caregiver may be exposed to
include: a.Lifting the patients from beds or
transferring the patients from their beds to
their wheelchairs and back;
b.Carrying heavy loads;
c.Too much body movements, such as
bending, reaching, walking, pushing,
pulling, standing, carrying, and holding;
d.Continuous hours of work attending to
patients.
Types of Hazards in Nursing Homes
and HospitalsHazards – these are hazards that
4. Psychological
have impact on the mental and emotional
aspects of the workers brought about by long
hours of physical activities, causing fatigue,
stress, anxieties, worries, depression, and loss of
concentration at work, which affect the quality
of their performance.
Some of the psychological that a
caregiver may be exposed to
include:
a.Too much demand from patients.
b.Working on graveyard shifts causing
fatigue that may result in sleepiness and
loss of concentration.
c.Verbal abuse from demanding patients
and sometimes even from their
supervisors; and
d.Too much demand from their supervisors
and other supervisors.
Types of Hazards in Nursing Homes
and5.Hospitals
Chemical hazards – these are hazards that
are caused by exposure to or handling of
chemicals that maybe harmful to worker’s
health.
Some of the chemicals that a
caregiver may be exposed to
include:
a.Cleaning chemicals for equipment, tools,
etc.;
b.Disinfectants for the bedroom, and
surrounding areas; and
c.Sanitizing solutions for kitchen and
dinnerware.
In evaluating the presence of hazards and
their consequences, a caregiver must
prove that indeed there are hazards
present in his / her workplace. To prove
this, he / she must gather on the past and
present health and safety problems in his
/ her workplace. To gather data, the
following strategies can be done:
 1.Observe the layout and the
arrangement of the different work
areas.
2.Interviews co-workers on their
complaints on the presence of physical
and psychological hazards in the
workplace and other health and safety-
related issues that they have.
3. Look into the records of injuries;
4. Do a cursory inspection of the
workplace as you make your daily rounds.
5. Gather information about the workplace
from the records or feedback of those who
have worked there.
Controlling hazards and Risks

1. By eliminating hazards – this means

removing the hazards completely so that
they cannot pose a danger, harm, or injury
to the workers, patients, and other
persons.
Controlling hazards and Risks
2. By substituting with a less hazardous or
less dangerous one.
Example:
removing slippery floorings and
installing nonslip ones.
substituting the use of a strong chemical
in disinfecting walls, tiles, and
equipment with a milder one.
3. By implementing engineering control –
this means changing of machinery or
equipment or a work process to reduce
exposures to hazards.

4. By implementing administrative control

– this means working on a limited number
of hours in hazardous area.
5. By wearing personal protective (PPE) –
this means working appropriate personal
protective clothing to protect the workers
from exposure to hazards.
Health and Safety Practices in Caregiving

1. Check the equipment if they are in good

condition.
2. Wear coveralls or protective gowns
when at work.
3. Wear masks when having contact with a
patient.
4. Wear gloves when handling patients,
objects, medicines, food, and other items
that are either contaminated or sensitive.
5. Immediately and properly discard
different kinds of wastes – fecal waste,
blood and other body fluids, needles,
dressings, disposable packages.
6. Wash hands and wrists thoroughly
using a liberal amount of soap and water;
soaping fingers individually and in
between; rubbing the front, back and sides
of the hands, including wrists.
7. Keep fingernails short to prevent dirt
from loding inside the free edge of the
8. Dry hands thoroughly after rinsing.
9. Reduce body stress and strain through
observing proper body mechanics by
maintaining body posture at all times.
10. Report immediately to the persons
concerned when hazards, injuries, or
accidents happen in the workplace.