Risk Managemet Issue In Health Care Facilities

Risk management within any setting or organization, including healthcare facilities, aim to minimize or reduce, if possible, certain losses. Risk management programs can be divided into two groups: proactive and reactive. The first one determines the actions to prevent unfavourable outcome for the organization and the second group consists of the actions done in response to certain unfavourable outcome that have already happened.

In terms of risk, hospitals are a relatively hazardous working environment for both patients and staff. Hospital staff must continuously deal with adverse events and numerous potential risks relating to surgery, anaesthetics and patient transfers: for example, wound infections, medication errors, wrong-site surgery (Michel Dückers, Marjan Faber, Juliëtte Cruijsberg, Richard Grol, Lisette Schoonhoven, Michel Wensing, 2009). Such statement concerns Bedford Hospital as well, which is situated in Bedfordshire, town of Bedford. To protect itself every hospital should concentrate on its own particular risk issue. In any case the main aim would be to minimize the risk of negligence to the patients, financial loss for the hospital and liability exposure of the health care providers. In the particular health care institution mentioned above risk management regarding natural disasters is to be paid certain attention at.

For the hospital’s safety it is important to assess the risk in case of flood, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and so on. Results of these assessments will be especially valuable for consideration of the expenses for the possible future losses, cost of the facility repair, insurance cost, and the approximate costs needed for the reduced risk. It is also important while considering the effects made on the environment and the losses of the business interruption.

Generally, the plan for the risk management issue can consist of four steps:

• Diagnosis of the problem
• Assessment of the possible losses
• Evaluation of the impact as a result
• Management, controlling the risk.