Unfortunately , some employees fail to perform proper hand hygiene after wearing PPE , neglect to wear proper eye protection or fully cover their hair or fail to use gloves properly when handling items containing blood or body fluids . Observations of healthcare workers in a university hospital in Germany revealed deficiencies in the use of recommended PPE among all observed healthcare workers while caring for COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients . 3 Deficits in everyday handling of PPE have been observed previously , especially in regard to fitting and correct sequencing and use , and were found in 90 percent of personnel . 3 . 4 Most commonly , errors occurred in the correct removal of gowns ( 65 percent ) and contact with potentially contaminated surfaces ( 48 percent ). 4
In my consultant role , I have seen some alarming PPE-related missteps in various healthcare facilities . The following photos were taking over two days at a prominent teaching hospital in the Northeast . PPE was in disarray and employees spent several minutes sorting through the mess to locate the appropriate PPE when entering their decontamination area . When needed PPE was unavailable , they would search other areas of the hospital to try and locate the correct item . Employees at this facility were forced to use PPE that was either nonexistent , old and in disrepair , or improvised with other items that were often inappropriate for the task at hand . One example : when removing the rack from their steam autoclaves , employees used an old silicone protective glove designed for home use ( or a hand towel ) to protect themselves . All these silicone gloves in use in the department were torn and , when asked , employees admitted several co-workers had suffered burns while at work — and management was aware .
Assessments are essential
All healthcare organization and departmental managers must ensure that PPE is provided and used in accordance with the latest industry standards , guidelines , best practices , instructions for use , and policies and procedures . Diligent assessments of PPE supplies , storage and organization , donning , doffing and disposal should be conducted to keep employee and patient safety a top priority ( this should also entail ensuring that proper sizes are available to meet all employees ’ needs ).
If supply and usage gaps are identified , additional employee training should be provided , ongoing assessments should be conducted , and managers should work closely with their materials management and infection prevention partners to help ensure all employees in the department have ready access to all necessary PPE .
David Taylor III , MSN , RN , CNOR , is an executive healthcare consultant for Resolute Advisory Group LLC , based in San Antonio , Texas . He has served as a contributing author for the Healthcare Sterile Processing Association ( HSPA ) since 2019 .
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