How can patients and workers stay safe when working in a hospital environment? It’s not something that you had to think much about until recently. Nevertheless, healthcare facilities are under increasing pressure to do all they can to keep everyone protected. Here are 4 tips for keeping safe in a hospital environment.
Take Advantage of Forced Barriers to Keep People Apart
Plexiglass standing barriers have become far more apparent in recent times. These are see-through ‘walls’ that enforce a degree of distance between people on one side and the other. There are different products, including one of the bestselling at sneezeguardez.com, which provide this type of standing protection. They each work similarly but have different quality levels.
A sneeze will be prevented from spreading across an open area. The mass of people in a hospital increases the temperature, and subsequently, hot air rises to the ceiling and gets sucked out through a fan and ducting system. This process helps to protect people from each other in a hospital while recirculating filtered air to prevent the spread of germs.
Wear Disposable Gloves
If you’re visiting a hospital to see an ill relative and you don’t work there, the idea of wearing disposable gloves will seem foreign to you. However, they protect you from touching a surface that has already been handled by an ill person or where someone has sneezed into their hand and not washed it right afterwards. Touching a hospital door handle after that same person has handled it can transfer germs too. So, wear gloves but discard them once you have left the facility. Don’t bring it home.
Use Face Masks at All Times
While you may use a face mask that you reuse to go outside to the supermarket or to walk around, this shouldn’t be the case when visiting the hospital or another healthcare facility. Ignore the question with face masks over the necessity of wearing one. Instead, err on the side of caution.
Even if face mask supplies are limited, there’s a higher risk when entering a healthcare facility because of the number of people there who are ill. Therefore, when wearing a face mask, it’s possible to contaminate it far more than a quick trip to the local Walmart. For this reason, the face mask should be discarded carefully after use.
Stay Apart from Other People
Keeping social distance is even more relevant when inside a hospital. Whether everyone is adhering to this policy or not, sit with ample space between yourself and the next seated person. Also, consider the people seated behind you who may be breathing down your back. If the distance is not being maintained, simply get up and remove yourself from that situation.
Elsewhere in the hospital, keep a sensible distance. Think about when walking around wards and hospital corridors that you don’t come face-to-face with someone hurrying quickly around a corner and closing the gap between you.
Staying safe when entering a hospital facility is different from other places. It’s a higher risk location with more germs floating around. Therefore, taking multiple protective measures is more necessary than ever. Don’t become complacent about it.
