Have you ever been hospitalized? If you are really lucky, your answer would be a big flat “no”. However, you may have visited the hospital time and again either to meet a doctor, to take medications without being admitted or at least to see someone who was admitted. Has it occurred to you, during any of those visits that the design of the hospital building in itself is different from the other buildings you have come across? That is because, in most jurisdictions, there are standards that have to be met in order to ensure safety and comfort of the stakeholders.In this article we are paying attention to why hospitals need additional safety measures when compared to the other facilities.
The nature of the inhabitants
Obviously, the majority of people in a hospital at any given time, excluding the staff and the visitors are not well. Therefore, they need more protection in an event such as a natural disaster than a normal person who is fit both mentally and physically would need. There may be critical patients who cannot move around without assistance let alone run to save their lives if a disaster strikes.Thus, in addition to meeting the common building standards for hospitals most use extra protective measures such as applying intumescent coatings even if that is not mandated.
Delicateness of the medications that are stored
Most medicines have ideal conditions under which they need to be stored and, therefore, it is essential that the storage facilities function properly all the time. You cannot risk power failures and the like and, therefore, steps should be taken to prevent the undesirable situations. The loss the establishment would suffer due to the ruined medications will be huge if no precautions were taken against them and the consequences of using spoiled medications may be far more extensive specially if it results in harm to patients.
Precision of the medical instruments and other equipment
When we obtain a medical report the readings should be accurate if we are to be treated properly. Therefore, the precision of the equipment is vital. In order to achieve this, they should not be exposed to extreme conditions and, even during natural or manmade emergencies such as riots, etc. the equipment should be transferred to a secure location as soon as possible specially considering the monetary loss if they suffer any damages. This is one of the major reasons why hospitals use fire protective coating so that they have enough time during an emergency to transfer both the equipment and patients before the whole structure collapses.
Sensitivity of information
Another main reason why healthcare facilities need extensive safety measures is the sensitivity of the information they have in store. The reports, information, etc. should not be allowed to be destroyed and they should not, most importantly, be accessible to unauthorized personnel. There are so many other reasons why hospitals involve special safety considerations but the bottom line is that what it there in such an establishment are fragile in one way or the other and needs to be protected.
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