While healthcare workers suffer the most injuries on the job than employees in any other industry, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted fewer than one-seventh the inspections it made to manufacturing sites and fewer than one-twentieth the inspections it made to construction sites in 2010, according to a Public Citizen report.
The report, "Health Care Workers Unprotected: Insufficient Inspections and Standards Leave Safety Risks Unaddressed," discusses the significant occupational hazard for healthcare workers and the low rate of OSHA inspections compared with other industries. For example, in 2010 healthcare workers reported 653,900 workplace injuries and illnesses, 152,000 more than the next highest industry for workplace industries, manufacturing. In addition, while there are more than double the number of healthcare workers than construction workers, OSHA conducts fewer than one-twentieth as many inspections of healthcare facilities as construction sites, according to the report.
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Public Citizen cites OSHA's low budget as well as barriers by Congress as contributing to the insufficient oversight of healthcare workplace safety. Public Citizen recommends Congress increase OSHA's funding and calls for OSHA to increase the number of inspections of healthcare facilities, create a safe patient handling standard, develop a standard to address workplace violence and amend the current bloodborne pathogens standard.
The report also includes comments from OSHA.
More Articles on Healthcare Worker Safety:
U.S. Hospital Employee Wellness Strategies Fall Behind Other Industries
7 Strategies to Improve Healthcare Workplace Safety
Patient Safety Tool: CDC's Safe Patient Injections Training Presentation
