ASSESSING OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY AMONG CERTIFIED REGISTERED ANESTHETISTS AT THE TAMALE TEACHING HOSPITAL

Abstract

Certified registered anesthetists face various occupational health and safety dangers arising from the perpetual lengthy hours spent within the operating room where persistent noise, anestheticvapors, ionizing radiation, infectious agents and psychological stress are prevalent. While they concentrate in providing healthcare, they are subject to hazards that by and large endanger their health and well- being. This is particularly true in developing countries where health service delivery is fraught with dangers. This study assessed the occupational health and safety of certified registered anesthetics at the Tamale Teaching Hospital. The cross-sectional study used a purposive and simple random sampling method to select 38 respondents all of whom were anesthetists. Data was collected with a structured questionnaire and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science, version 25.0. Findings of the research showed that 100% of the respondents were aware of the various potential hazards to anesthetists in the hospital. 80% recognized recapping of used needles as a risky practice. 97.2% acknowledged the importance of effective hand washing after each clinical procedure in order to prevent cross infections. Majority of respondents (94.4%) felt anesthetist were at risk of occupational hazard while an average of them (50%) perceived the risk as high among anesthetists. Only 64% always complied with standard procedures while those who failed to comply (36%) saw standard procedures as waste of time apart from the inadequate safety kits. 83.4% and 44.4% of respondents had received Hepatitis B and Tetanus vaccinations respectively at the time of the study. Anesthetists’ compliance on occupational health and safety was moderate which calls for the need of regular and routine training of certified registered anesthetists on occupational health and safety. The study recommended the provision of resources for certified registered anesthetists as an enhancement to encourage and sustain compliance of occupational health and safety protocols established by the profession.