Every workplace or public space should have clear and efficient health and safety measures in place, however, there are some establishments which require an even closer level of scrutiny. When it comes to hospitals, safety concerns are heightened twofold due to the nature of the work being conducted, combined with the level of public access to these institutions.

Patients, visitors and workers all require clear visual indicators and instructions to ensure that safety measures are upheld at all times. Often, individuals in hospitals, whether they are there for medical treatment or otherwise, are subject to many risks, which need to be addressed properly when planning safety strategies and preventative measures. 

Here are just some of the essential hospital safety signs that should be used.

Signs Used In Hospitals

Cleaning and Slip Hazard Signs

Hygiene is of paramount importance in medical environments of all kinds, but it's also important to ensure that associated risks are considered. If cleaning work is being conducted on hospital wards and in public areas, this requires efficient visual instructions in order to ensure that staff, patients and members of the public, are not unknowingly putting themselves at risk.

Discover our range of Cleaning and Slip Hazard Signs today.

Radiation Hazard Signs

Hospitals are full of medical equipment which apply the process of radiation, such as X-rays, ultrasounds and CT scans. Accordingly, hospital staff and members of the public should be properly alerted to this invisible health hazard, to ensure that they are not unknowingly exposed to any possible risks.

Get your Radiation Hazard Signs now.

Biohazard and Laboratory Signs

Due to the heightened risks from biological hazards and infectious diseases, relevant safety signs should be used to notify all hospital staff and members of the public, who may come into contact with infectious materials. This not only protects the health and wellbeing of the individual, but also prevents infections from spreading, which is crucial in medical environments.

Discover our range of Biohazard and Laboratory Signs today.

Safe Conditions and First Aid Signs

While this may seem obvious, it is nevertheless, important to point out that hospitals should also clearly mark their emergency equipment, and provide clear indications of areas that are safe to the public. 

View our range of First Aid and Safe Conditions Safety Signs today.

NHS Fire and Emergency Signs

Fires present one of the greatest risks to hospitals, particularly due to the potential scale of panic and confusion that could be caused, in a building with so many members of the public present. Our fire and emergency signs are manufactured to NHS guidelines, to ensure that fire exits and assembly points are clearly marked, for an efficient response in an emergency situation.

Buy Fire Safety Signs today.

Get A Full Catalogue of Hospital Safety Signs

There are a variety of signs and symbols used in hospitals, so it can be difficult to keep on top of them. At Label Source, we stock a catalogue of signs used in hospitals to keep you updated.

Discover our full range of hospital safety signs so you can stay up to date today.

If you have any queries about which hospital safety signs and general hazard markers are needed then feel free to get in touch with our helpful team. Give us a call on 0800 3761 693.

Over the years, we at Label Source have worked with many clients in both the NHS and the private hospital sector. We provide these customers with a range of fit-for-purpose medical equipment labels for hospitals, included custom-printed labels as well as a variety of different items from our standard product ranges.

We have worked with many different departments who have used our medical equipment labels for hospitals, including:

• EBME
• Electronics
• Engineering
• Bio-Medical
• Building Services, Facilities & Estates
• IT & Computer Services

What are our medical equipment labels for hospitals suitable for? 

The labels we supply can be used in the testing, servicing, maintenance and calibration of medical equipment. They are suitable for mechanical, electrical (including PAT testing), and radiation equipment. Additionally, many of the labels we provide are used to identify ownership and improve traceability of medical equipment (as well as plant and ancillary equipment) via serial numbers or barcodes. Our labels can also be used to simply identify the prescribed use of the equipment in question.

All of our medical equipment labels for hospitals are designed to meet the unique challenges that take place in a clinical environment. They are resistant to solvents, chemicals and scratches, with a wipe-clean surface for optimum hygiene.

Browse the Label Source website to find the medical equipment labels for hospitals you need, or get in touch via one of the methods below to discuss your labelling requirements with a member of our team.

• Email:info@labelsource.co.uk
• Telephone (UK only): 0800 3761 693
• Telephone (Rest of the World): 0044 1443 842769

Here are some of the other products we supply to the healthcare sector:

• Health and safety signs (including those manufactured to NHS guideline HTM 65)
• COSHH labels and tapes
• Laboratory labels and tapes
• Magnetic signs for transporting dangerous substances
• Printable labels (also available for thermal transfer printers)
• Write and seal labels

PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is a crucial consideration in many different industries. Doctors (who are frequently at risk of infection) and builders (who face any number of hazards over the course of a working day) are obvious examples, but PPE isn't just something for the medical and construction industries to worry about - protective equipment is used practically everywhere, from fire and police stations to warehouses and post offices.

Sadly, the requirement for PPE is one that's all too often forgotten by employers and their staff. It's easy to dismiss protective equipment as yet more 'red tape' that gets in the way of one's job, but the truth of the matter is that PPE saves lives - without it, your employees are at risk, and you and your business are liable for any damages.

Here are some sobering case studies from a variety of different industries:

Nurse sues hospital company after contracting Ebola

If Nina Pham's name sounds familiar to you, it's probably because her story was one of the biggest of last year's Ebola outbreak. Ms Pham was the first person to contract the disease on American soil, and though she fortunately recovered the illness, she has since filed a lawsuit against her employer, Texas Health Resources, on the grounds that they didn't to enough to protect her from infection. The lawsuit states that the company did not adequately train employees to avoid exposure; furthermore, they did not provide the correct protective equipment, which meant that Nina Pham's neck and hair were exposed whilst treating an infected patient.

Worker paralysed after three-metre fall

A 34-year-old man named Colin Shields was left paralysed from the neck down after suffering a fall at work. Mr Shields fell 3 metres from the top of a gritter; the Health & Safety Executive fined his employer, Inex Works Ltd, £13,500 for breaching the Work at Height Regulations 2005. A press release on the HSE website suggested that Mr Shields ought to have been "wearing a harness or restriant to protect him from falling".

Narrow escape for man hit by falling guttering

Valentin Taljanov (aged 61 at the time of the incident in question) was seriously injured after a piece of cast iron guttering fell onto him at Aberdeen Harbour, where he was working at the time. Mr Taljanov suffered a broken arm, a punctured lung, and multiple other injuries, although the damage could potentially have been even worse; an HSE press release stated that "it was probably only Mr Taljanov's hard hat that prevented him from being killed".

Hopefully, these three stories have more than convinced you of the importance of PPE. If you are an employer, be sure to train your workers properly, and put up the proper PPE signs to remind them of their responsibilities at all times!

Earlier this month, the Health Service Journal published a report on the current state of patient safety in the NHS. Entitled The Case for Patient Safey: Financially, Professionall and Ethically, it is a wide-ranging report that covers a number of different concerns; however, one point in particular stands out:

"[T]here's a long list of clinical risks where, seen through the lens of patient safety, we have to act, and the NHS can be a world leader. There are still enormous improvements to be had from improvements in areas such as sepsis and acute kidney injury. And one of the biggest threats facing all healthcare systems, anti-microbial resistance, needs to be comprehensively tackled as an emerging patient safety threat."

Today, we'd like to tell you how you can personally help to prevent the spread of anti-microbial resistance with the UK and its National Health Service. But first...

What IS anti-microbial resistance?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines anti-microbial resistance as the "resistance of a microorganism to an antimicrobial drug that was originally effective for treatment of infections caused by it". In layman's terms: once scientists have found the cure for a particular disease, that disease may - over time - build up a resistance to the cure. This is called 'anti-microbial resistance'.

Why is this a problem?

Because infections will pose a far more serious threat to human life if they become resistant to antimicrobial treatments. Illnesses that are currently treatable may eventually become life-threatening if their anti-microbial resistance builds up.

What can I do about it?

We're glad you asked! The following actions are recommended by the WHO itself - here's what you personally can do to tackle anti-microbial resistance:

• Wash your hands. This simple act is the single best way to prevent the spread of infectious diseases - you should always wash after using the toilet, preparing food, sneezing/coughing into your hands, or otherwise coming into contact with something that could carry infection (e.g. animals, refuse, wounds).


• Avoid contact with sick people if possible. This one is just common sense: the less time you spend around an infection, the less likely you are to be infected.


• Practise safe sex. Condoms are the most effective way to prevent the spread of sexually-transmitted infections; while other contraceptives (such as the pill or an IUD coil) will minimise the risk of pregnancy, these methods do nothing to prevent infection.


• Ensure that you are properly vaccinated. This also goes for any children in your care, as well as for vulnerable elderly relatives who may need your assistance to get their vaccinations.
  
  
• Do not use anti-microbial drugs unless prescribed. Just as vaccinations help you to build up a resistance to certain diseases, unprescribed use of anti-microbial drugs may help infections to build up a resistance to these treatments. 
  
  
• If your doctor prescribes anti-microbial drugs, be sure to finish the full treatment course. Even if you feel better after a few doses, it is important to take the full recommended treatment.

Of course, if you work in a hospital, clinic, or any other healthcare environment, you may be able to prevent anti-microbial resistance in other ways. For example, you can ensure that your building has plenty of signs that remind people to wash their hands, dispose of clinical waste properly, and so forth. Education is an important of any safety programme, and now that you know how to prevent anti-microbial resistance, you can educate others, both via safety signs and by word of mouth.