Health and Safety Policies and Indoor Environmental Quality - Term Paper Example

VАLUАTIОN ОF THЕ IMРАСT ОF HЕАLTH АND SАFЕTY РОLIСIЕS ОN INDООR ЕNVIRОNMЕNTАL QUАLITY IN THЕ WОRKРLАСЕ By Name Course Professor University City and State Date Table of Contents 1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….3 2. Indoor Environmental Quality………………………………………………………..…..3 2.1. Indoor Air Quality…………………………………………………………………...4 2.2. Lighting Quality……………………………………………………………………...8 2.3. Thermal Comfort……………………………………………………………………..8 2.4. Acoustic Quality……………………………………………………………………..9 3. Conclusion…………………………………………………………….…………………10 4. Bibliography……………………………………………………….…………………….11 Evaluation of the Impact of Health and Safety Policies on Indoor Environmental Quality in the Workplace 1. Introduction Hospitals face serious hazards, such as needle sticks, lifting or moving patients, slips, falls, trips, and the potential for disturbed or combative patients and visitors, an unpredictable and dynamic environment and unique culture. Health caregivers have a responsibility to protect patients, and some may even risk their safety and health to help patients. Health and safety policies play a critical role in ensuring the safety of the patients and staff members in the hospital workplace. Health and safety policies refer to written statements by employers stating the organisation's commitment to protecting the health and safety of the workers and the general public (Reese, 2015). The policies are endorsed commitments by the management to their employees with regard to their health and safety in the workplace. The policies do have different impacts on indoor environmental quality in the workplace for instance hospitals. Therefore, this paper seeks to evaluate the impact that health and safety policies have on indoor environmental quality within a hospital setting. 2. Indoor Environmental Quality Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) describes the relationship between the quality of a building’s inside environment and the health and wellbeing of the occupants. IEQ is also an indoor environment that has a reasonable and acceptable level of comfort that reduces the development of serious health complications (Jung et al. 2015, p.190). IEQ addresses physical hazards, for example, illumination, ventilation, and comfort, as well as and health hazards, such as chemical and bioaerosol exposures. Often, employees’ great concern is that they may experience symptoms or ill health conditions from the exposure to contaminants inside the buildings that they work. IEQ concerns could include reports of respiratory and eye irritation, headaches, unusual or unbearable odours, and in some cases physical symptoms. A key reason for this concern among the staff and sometimes patients is that they tend to feel better whenever they are out of the building. Research has indicated that some respiratory signs and disorders can be related to damp buildings, but it is still unclear what forms of indoor pollutants show that employees’ health and safety is at risk (Jung et al. 2015, pp.190-191). In most cases, an employee and his or her doctor may suspect that specific health conditions emanate from their work environment. Other research studies also show that building-like symptoms are linked to the characteristics of the building, for instance, dampness, ventilation, and cleanliness (Loupa, Fotopoulou and Tsagarakis, 2015). Indoor environments in hospitals are highly complex and the occupants, notably the staff and patients, might be exposed to various contaminants. Other factors like indoor temperatures and relative humidity levels may also have an impact on how individuals cope with the indoor environment (Loupa, Fotopoulou and Tsagarakis, 2015). IEQ is determined by many factors, including indoor air quality, lighting quality, housekeeping, legionella, thermal comfort, and acoustical quality. 2.1. Indoor Air Quality Indoor air quality (IAQ) consists of a wide range of factors such as temperature, humidity, presence of contaminants and chemicals, and outdoor air quality coming inside the building (Stipe, 2015). The notion of IAQ is particularly important with respect to work environments in hospitals as well as other healthcare facilities. Both the patients in the healthcare facility and the members of staff caring for the patients are directly affected by air quality inside the building. Better IAQ can be a viable objective for the overall improvements in the occupant satisfaction in hospital buildings and other healthcare facilities. Patient comfort is often reflected in the hospital ratings, for example, Press Ganey Survey (Roger and Heckenberg, 2016). The results of the patient-satisfaction survey also have a direct impact the amount of funding provided to the healthcare organizations. Therefore, hospitals and other healthcare facilities tend to focus more on measures that can help to increase patient comfort and reduce nosocomial infections, and IAQ is a major component of those measures. The hospital staff members are also as important as the patients in ensuring the viability of the healthcare organizations. Members of staff consist of doctors, nurses, housekeepers, maintenance, and the administration, among other subordinate staff. The indoor environment in the hospital affects the health, welfare, productivity, and morale, and ultimately employee retention (Stipe, 2015). For example, a study conducted by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that better IAQ improved the productivity of employees by between 0.5% and 5%. Such positive impacts offer healthcare organizations an incentive to make improvement in the workplace environment, and again IAQ comes into play (De Giuli 2013, p.211). Improving IAQ requires an understanding of the components, which affect it. For healthcare organizations, these components can be divided into four categories: patients, members of staff, the building itself, and outdoor environment. While patients might be the key reasons for improving IAQ, they are also a significant contributor of air contamination (Okuyama, Wagner and Bijnen 2014, p.1). The patients have different health concerns, such as infections, viruses, as well as other communicable diseases. Patients who cough may spread contaminants in the air and on nearby surfaces. Bod fluids that come from wounds, toxicities, and incontinence, can be easily transferred from a patient to beddings, clothing, and other surfaces (Stipe, 2015). In addition, wounds and other various infections and diseases, along with different medical procedures, could introduce horrible odours in the air. The hospital staff members are normally in direct contact with the contaminants that come from patients. Using gloves, washing hands and the properly disposing of dirty gloves, dressing, and bandages, are important elements of a hospital’s hygiene protocol, which, if not followed, could lead to the potential spread of the contaminants from patients. The hospital’s staff members do not simply include those taking care of patients directly (Stipe, 2015). Housekeeping workers who are tasked with maintaining the cleanliness of the building also serve as another contributor of IAQ contaminants. They do this using the methods and chemicals that they use to clean and disinfect the building. Carrying garbage together with other waste products may be a source of contamination into the air if such waste is improperly covered (Stipe, 2015). The chemicals that are used to clean surfaces can also introduce unpleasant odours in the indoor environment, and when the cleaned surfaces do not dry properly, they are likely to cause mould growth. Exposure to moulds can lead to allergic reactions. Symptoms, in this case, vary from nose irritation, eyes, mouth, or throat. Moulds can also cause nasal stuffiness and running nose besides reddened and itchy eyes. When people who were previously non-sensitive when exposed to mould or mould spores, they are likely to become sensitive to them (Loupa, Fotopoulou and Tsagarakis, 2015). Mould trigger signs of asthma such as difficulty in breathing, wheezing, and cough, which happen to people who are allergic to mould. The forms and extent of signs associated with exposure to mould in indoor settings vary based on the mould available, the duration of exposure, and the immune system of the victim. The hospital building itself may also contain elements that negatively affect IAQ. For example, the ductwork that is installed in the building to distribute air inside the hospital can become filthy with time and trap different contaminants like dust, and dirt, as well as biological organisms (Stipe, 2015). The moisture emanating from the HVAC humidification might condense inside the duct system. The moisture may also seep into several building components ranging from breaches, concealed leaks, and even overspray from the cleaning process. Over time, this moisture can initiate mould growth, which may likely remain undetected until it becomes a major sanitation problem. In addition, carrying dirty linens inside the building can be detrimental to IAQ. The health and safety policy requires that the general indoor ventilation of a building be sufficient to protect the employees’ health and safety. The ventilation system should be made in a way that replacement air can be provided to replace exhausted air (Hughes and Ferrett 2011, p.74). The policy also requires that the replacement air be heated, if necessary, to maintain the minimum temperature within the workplace. The replacement air should free from contagion from hazardous gas, dust, vapour, smoke, mist or fume. Air discharged from exhaust system should be discharged in a way that prevents the return of any contaminants to the work area. Outdoor air would rarely be seen as a potential harm to IAQ. Although outdoor air comes into buildings to refresh the IAQ, its capability of actually improving the air depends on the condition of the air and its source. Emergency generator and vehicle traffic exhaust are common air contaminants, which can come into the building with the outdoor air (Stipe, 2015). Taking into consideration that IAQ is also made of temperature and humidity levels, very hot and humid air, which surpasses the capabilities of the building’s air-handling systems to condition it, may lead to higher temperature and humidity levels in the building above the acceptable range. Insufficient or deficient filtration in the air-handling systems can also provide an opportunity for different contaminants to spread through the airstreams in the building. 2.2. Lighting Quality Light can influence the comfort level of building occupants in several ways through vision, and it is really important in determining productivity. Poor lighting quality can cause eye irritation, fatigue, drowsy, and nausea. Poor lighting may be caused by either excessive lighting or insufficient of lights (Roger and Heckenberg, 2016). The health and safety policy states that a workplace should have adequate illumination according to the minimum lighting standards. The levels of brightness, glare, contrast, as well as shadows, should be maintained at levels that are not likely to become hazardous to employees. If glares from direct lighting source are a hazard to employees, the source should be shielded using louvers, lens covers, lenses, or diffusers to control the glare. When disposing of fluorescent tubes involves crushing them, this should be conducted in an area that is adequately ventilated to safeguard the employees’ health and safety, and the employees should be given the right protective equipment (Roger and Heckenberg, 2016). Fluorescent tubes and light bulbs that have burned out should be replaced promptly with proper replacements so that the workplace has sufficient illumination for employees to perform their work safely. 2.3. Thermal Comfort Thermal comfort may be described based on air temperature, velocity, relative humidity and may be expressed by the perception of the building occupants depending on whether they prefer it cooler or warmer so as to be comfortable (Dascalaki 2009, p.551). The human factor is also important in achieving a comfortable environment, for instance, appropriate clothing and level of activity. Many researchers acknowledge that the majority of people are comfortable in sedentary jobs, where there are effective draught temperature and air velocity. Employees who are not comfortable in the workplace tend to take more breaks and often lose concentration while doing tasks. Previous studies also show that as much as a third of the reported sick leaves were as a result of sick building syndrome, which could be reduced if employees are able to control their thermal environment (Dascalaki 2009). While particle filtration and room pressurisation are very important, humidity also plays a very significant role in the equation of air quality. When the humidity in the building materials combines with high temperature, it serves as a breeding ground for the growth of fungi and moulds (Roger and Heckenberg, 2016). Although most of these fungi or mould organisms tend to be fairly harmless, there are particular exceptions, which are known to be very dangerous, particularly when the immune of patients is compromised. Additionally, fungi and moulds are known to release mycotoxins into the air, which further aggravates respiratory issues. It is important to complete routine and scheduled microbiological testing to ensure that any undesirable pathogens like fungi and moulds do not reach excessive levels in the hospitals. Conducting frequent inspections of the building materials and surfaces would help in detecting leaks and other possible vulnerabilities (Roger and Heckenberg, 2016). Similarly, well controlled HVAC systems as well as automatic building management systems, which continuously monitor the major factors that moderate humidity, are valuable tools for managing excessive humidity and its adverse impacts. 2.4. Acoustic Quality This includes noise and vibration, which are in a wave motion, annoying psychologically and can emanate from outdoor, people inside the building or machines (Dascalaki 2009). Noise pollution has a tendency of creating a stressful feeling and subsequent health effects for instance dizziness. 3. Conclusion This paper has attempted to relate indoor environmental quality factors with health and safety policies within a hospital setting. Indoor environmental quality factors, notably indoor air quality, are critical measures in the patient outcomes not only in hospitals but also other healthcare facilities. This paper has also sought to highlight some of the factors, which have an impact on IEQ. An acceptable or exemplary level of IEQ for hospitals and health facilities can be achieved, for example, through quality design, implementation as well as attention to detail during the operation and maintenance routines of the hospitals or medical facilities. Bibliography Dascalaki, E.G., Gaglia, A.G., Balaras, C.A. and Lagoudi, A., 2009. Indoor environmental quality in Hellenic hospital operating rooms. Energy and Buildings, 41(5), pp.551-560. De Giuli, V., Zecchin, R., Salmaso, L., Corain, L. and De Carli, M., 2013. Measured and perceived indoor environmental quality: Padua Hospital case study. Building and Environment, 59, pp.211-226. Hughes, P., & Ferrett, E. 2011. Introduction to health and safety at work: the handbook for the NEBOSH National General Certificate. Oxford, Butterworth-Heinemann. Jung, C.C., Wu, P.C., Tseng, C.H. and Su, H.J., 2015. Indoor air quality varies with ventilation types and working areas in hospitals. Building and Environment, 85, pp.190-195. Kim, J., de Dear, R., Candido, C., Zhang, H. and Arens, E., 2013. Gender differences in office occupant perception of indoor environmental quality (IEQ). Building and Environment, 70, pp.245-256. Loupa, G., Fotopoulou, S. and Tsagarakis, K.P., 2015. A tool for analysing the interdependence of indoor environmental quality and reported symptoms of the hospitals’ personnel. Journal of Risk Research. Okuyama, A., Wagner, C. and Bijnen, B., 2014. Speaking up for patient safety by hospital-based health care professionals: A literature review. BMC Health Services Research, 14(1), p.1. Reese, C.D., 2015. Occupational health and safety management: A practical approach. CRC Press. Roger, S., & Heckenberg, A. March 2016. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in Hospital Environments. The Australian Hospital Engineer Journal, Vol. 39, No 1. Stipe, J. C. July 2015. Indoor air quality in hospitals. CFE Media. Read More