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Importance of House keeping in Health care Industry Introduction: The role of housekeeping in hospitals is to create a peaceful, infection – free and pleasant atmosphere required for the speedy recovery of the patients. It should also create a homely atmosphere for the patients.
Housekeeping refers to the general cleaning of hospitals and clinics, including the floors, walls, and certain types of equipment, tables and other surfaces.
Why should we pay attention to housekeeping at work?
Effective housekeeping can eliminate some workplace hazards and help get a job done safely and properly. Poor housekeeping can frequently contribute to accidents by hiding hazards that cause injuries. If the sight of paper, debris, clutter and spills is accepted as normal, then other more serious health and safety hazards may be taken for granted.
Housekeeping is not just cleanliness. It includes keeping work areas neat and orderly; maintaining halls and floors free of slip and trip hazards; and removing of waste materials (e.g., paper, cardboard) and other fire hazards from work areas. It also requires paying attention to important details such as the layout of the whole workplace, aisle marking, the adequacy of storage facilities, and maintenance. Good housekeeping is also a basic part of accident and fire prevention.
Effective housekeeping is an ongoing operation: it is not a hit-and-miss cleanup done occasionally.
Periodic "panic" cleanups are costly and ineffective in reducing accidents.
• tripping over loose objects on floors, stairs and platforms
• being hit by falling objects
• slipping on greasy, wet or dirty surfaces
• striking against projecting, poorly stacked items or misplaced material
• cutting, puncturing, or tearing the skin of hands or other parts of the body on projecting nails, wire or steel strapping To avoid these hazards, a workplace must "maintain" order throughout a workday. Although this effort requires a great deal of management and planning, the benefits are many.
What are some benefits of good housekeeping practices?
Effective housekeeping results in:
• reduced handling to ease the flow of materials
• fewer tripping and slipping accidents in clutter-free and spill-free work areas
• decreased fire hazards
• lower worker exposures to hazardous substances
• better control of tools and materials
• more efficient equipment cleanup and maintenance
• better hygienic conditions leading to improved health
• more effective use of space
• reduced property damage by improving preventive maintenance
• less janitorial work
• improved morale
Staff training is an essential part of any good housekeeping program. Staff need to know how to work safely with the products they use. They also need to know how to protect other workers such as by posting signs (e.g., "Wet - Slippery Floor") and reporting any unusual conditions.
Housekeeping order is "maintained" not "achieved." This means removing the inevitable messes that occur from time to time and not waiting until the end of the shift to reorganize and clean up. Integrating housekeeping into jobs can help ensure this is done.
A good housekeeping program identifies and assigns responsibilities for the following:
• clean up during the shift
• day-to-day cleanup
• waste disposal
• removal of unused materials
• inspection to ensure cleanup is complete
Do not forget out-of-the-way places such as shelves, basements, sheds, and boiler rooms that would otherwise be overlooked. The orderly arrangement of operations, tools, equipment and supplies is an important part of a good housekeeping program.
The final addition to any housekeeping program is inspection. It is the only way to check for deficiencies in the program so that changes can be made. The documents on workplace inspection checklists provide a general guide and examples of checklists for inspecting offices and manufacturing facilities
Reasons for the uneconomic running of Housekeeping department
1. Wastage of labour – too many staff
- outdated jobs;
- outdated equipment;
- little mechanical equipment;
- outdated materials;
- outdated designs;
- stock not being used (money lying idle);
- lack of supervision;
- lack of planning;
2. Wastage of materials – extravagant use of cleaning agents;
- insufficient cleaning of articles;
- insufficient care of articles;
- incorrect methods of cleaning;
- extravagant use of heat, light and water.
Arju O.
Executive-House keeping
Shija Hospitals and Research Institute,Langol
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