The Role of System Safety in Preventing Surgical Fires

Hazardous Circumstances in the Clinical Environment

Hazardous circumstances are any circumstances in which an individual, especially a worker, gets exposed to hazards. The Clinical environment has very many hazards that place the clinical workers under various risks. An example of a hazardous circumstance in a hospital setting is surgical fires. Just as the name suggests, surgical fires take place in the operation rooms around or on a patient receiving a medical procedure. Surgical fires are common in most hospitals and may cause serious injuries to the patient and at times they may be fatal and lead to the death of the patient. These fires result from the equipment that is used during surgery and are accelerated by the volatile liquids used. Surgical fires are preventable and all hospitals should devise means to ensure that they do not occur.

Managing the Risk of Surgical Fires

Notably, surgical fires are a risk to both the patient and the medical practitioners. System safety can be used to manage the risk of surgical fires. The first step is to plan on how to plan on how to manage the risk (Haimes). All the equipment and resources required to manage the risk are purchased. The next step is to determine the factors that contribute to surgical fires. Also, the operating rooms should be equipped with firefighting equipment such as extinguishers to put out a fire in case it breaks out. The medical practitioners should also be trained on how to react in case a fire breaks out during a procedure. Moreover, during an operation, practitioners should ensure that they adopt practices that reduce the likelihood of a fire breaking out. It is also important to carry out a risk assessment before beginning a surgical procedure. This way, the practitioners are able to determine what may cause a surgical fire and eliminate it.

Works cited

Haimes, Yacov Y. Risk modeling, assessment, and management. John Wiley & Sons, 2015.