DENTAL HEALTH & SAFETY
Hiding in plain Steve Ashton considers some risk areas in dental practice so obvious they become invisible D
ENTISTRY isn’t especially high risk. Most of the things that cause injury or ill health are reasonably well
understood within the profession. With a little bit of thought and eff ort, appropriate controls can be used eff ectively. T e problem generally isn’t that the issues are not obvious; it’s that they’re so obvious those working in the environment day-to-day tend not to think about them. People become complacent and oblivious to risks that only seem obvious with hindsight in the aſt ermath of an incident.
Slips, trips and falls T is is the easiest place to start in any workplace and is the most overlooked area of danger, causing injury (and sometimes death) to thousands every year. Patients, visitors and staff walk into the practice every day. How oſt en have you seen the damaged tiling just inside the entrance and promised yourself you would do something
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about it “tomorrow”? How oſt en has the splash of coff ee at reception been leſt to dry on the fl oor instead of being immediately mopped away? It is so obvious it seems unnecessary to even think about. But therein lies the problem. If your practice does not have a culture
embedded in the mind of every employee to recognise and to do something about the small problems that arise each and every day then, sooner or later, somebody will slip or trip. And the outcome can be serious. While the most likely consequence may be bruised pride, slip, trip and fall incidents in the UK cost 40 workers their lives in 2009 and cost society an estimated £800 million each year. In addition to the fatalities, there were over 15,000 major injuries attributed to this single hazard. A well-planned inspection programme
will help you to remove the “blinkers” and control the most obvious hazards that may otherwise go unrecognised and unresolved.
A fresh pair of eyes (sharing the inspections with someone from another practice, for example, or bringing in a consultancy) may see far more where familiarity has created blind spots.
Infection control T is is a key risk area for the dental profession. Very high standards of cleanliness and scrupulous procedures for disinfection in the surgery are (quite rightly) expected and (generally) achieved. T e need for inoculation against hepatitis (and to confi rm the eff ectiveness of the treatment) for anyone undertaking invasive procedures is generally well understood. But when was the last time you
reminded ancillary staff that they should stay away from work when suff ering from a simple head cold or perhaps a stomach upset? Are your reception staff aware of the standards expected or are they waiting at the desk with a welcoming sneeze for all
SUMMONS
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