Safety is a condition in which being secure from different kinds of losses and injuries is prioritized. This is the simplest definition of safety that you can get. But when it comes down to any field of dynamics and continuous course of action, safety means proper correction and hazard detection.
And when you are in the healthcare field, keeping abreast of all the technological advancements, limitations, and risks by analyzing the risk finding the most effective workable solution for managing the team becomes highly important. And if you are planning to this type of goal, then using the 3A principle becomes crucial. This 3A principle involves awareness of the issue, analysis of the issue, and an action plan with correction.
It is imperative to have an expert in facility planning and shielding because they will take care of the following aspects of safety during facility planning and shielding.
Hospital safety
When you are considering hospital safety, it involves environmental elements, machines, and humans. You must have a systematic approach to easily understand all the different types of mechanisms and situations that may contribute to accidents that involve medical equipment.
This type of approach acts as a savior in the case of hospital safety since it allows you to find the cause then gives you an ideal solution to deal with the issue and this is where proper facility planning starts playing a crucial role in the overall approach to keeping everything related to the hospital safe.
The design of the imaging department
To ensure effective planning and design of such a department, a properly designed and dedicated engineering approach is required. In addition to this, you must consider patient comfort and account workflow in this type of approach. Even the individual modality’s final location needs to be pre-planned; otherwise, getting tangible results from your facility planning efforts will not be possible.
The type of room layout you will choose should indicate the data points, door dimensions, and supply points. The door dimension, in this case, is necessary for the safe entry of all the patients in the room. Along with this, the plan should also indicate the location of medical gas outlets, air conditioning, etc.
In the case of MRI installation, you need to pay attention to the RF cage; otherwise, things will go haywire, and all the things you have planned for proper facility planning will come to pause. There should be no multi-parameter monitor installation on one side of the imaging department. Any sensitive equipment that will affect the magnetic field of the imaging department needs to be avoided.
You must understand that all modern imaging equipment designs are based on advanced circuits; you must protect them from humidity, sudden temperature changes, and dust. All that you need to do to achieve this is install proper air conditioning in that particular area.
Electricity
Leakage current results in a micro shock current and this passes to the ground through the metal chassis. But if this passes directly to the patient, it can result in death or paralysis. You can use equipotential grounding to make sure that the current doesn’t pass directly into the patient. This is one of the essential parts of proper facility planning for imaging equipment.
In addition to this, all the different types of earthing terminals shouldn’t be left unmarked as this can create confusion and lead to accidents. And you must use flexible cables for connecting all the different types of modules.
Magnetic field safety
If there is any MRI installation, considering magnetic field safety becomes essential. Proper shielding of magnets should be done to ensure safety. There should also be a suitable system to ensure that the radiation doesn’t exceed the standard limit.
The MRI machine shouldn’t allow RF depositions on all the patients beyond the expected limit; otherwise, things will get out of control, and you might end up hurting the patient. Even the tanks used in this case need to be cooled with water jets so that the system can be kept protected against fire.
Radiation protection
The biggest threat to hospitals worldwide is non-ionizing radiation, so every hospital facility needs to pay attention to this. The patient’s eye is the most vulnerable part in this case, which is why proper precautions should be taken while using such devices. Use x ray vest and other form of radiation protective technologies while working on the hospital.
Proper interlocks can protect from different types of radiation, which is why interlocks are prioritized during facility planning. In addition to this, an extensive radiation safety program must be implemented to ensure a 360-degree safe environment for all.
