Checklist of facility safety inspection for NABH accreditation preparation

NABH puts high importance to safety in hospitals and ask the preparing hospitals to ensure that the facility is safe for patients, staff and visitors. As per one of the objective elements (FMS.1 e. of NABH 4^th edition), the preparing hospital is required to conduct facility inspection rounds to ensure safety. Further, it also states that the round should be conducted at-least twice in patient care areas and once in non-patient care areas. In-order for these rounds to be effective, it is important that a comprehensive checklist be used so that common safety hazards and potential risks could be checked and necessary remedial measures be taken. Below, I have prepared a checklist of points that could be used for such rounds. The checklist also addresses various other safety parameters that has been asked in different standards and objective elements of NABH standards book.

This checklist would be of much more value if used along-with the Infrastructure checklist for NABH accreditation preparation.

Checklist for patient care areas and non-patient care areas

S. No.	Points to be checked	Yes / No / NA	Remark
	Is the floor slippery and probable to cause slip falls?
	Is there some uneven areas that can potentially cause trip fall?
	Can the gradient and height of ramps/stairs cause fall while walking through them?
	Does the elevators shows any sign of hazard, like sudden stoppage or jerky movements?
	Does the placement of furniture, overhead storage, equipment etc. likely to cause accidents?
	Are there any unprotected electrical wirings?
	Does the area contains any listed hazardous materials stored in unsafe condition?
	Is the condition of equipment in the area likely to cause harm to patient/staff, like electric shock, burns etc.?
	Are there unwanted storage in a condition that can trigger fire in the area?
	Will there be a difficulty in accessing a fire-extinguisher in case of fire?
	Are the fire extinguishers available in the area expired?
	Will there be a difficulty in case of 'Code Red alert' and evacuating the area in case of fire
	Does the area lack display of emergency evacuation route?
	Are there obstacles in emergency evacuation routes?
	Does the staff lack understanding of basic fire safety measures?
	Is the exit route free of obstacle and convenient to use?
	Is fire extinguisher accessible?
	Does the area lack adequate lighting which can be a reason for accidents or errors?
	Are the swing doors unsafe for people passing through it?
	Are there leakages/seepages in the area, rendering it prone to infections?
	Are there rodents and pests in the area which can cause harm to patients/staff or materials?
	Can the height of ceiling cause injury to head to people with long height?
	Are there unwanted or unnoticed holes, breaks in the floor/ground that can be hazardous while walking?
	Does the terrace/higher floors lacks grills at the border, making it unsafe?
	Other findings and remarks

Other checklists available for NABH accreditation preparation: 

Infrastructure, IPD-Wards, ICU, Medical Records, Operation Theatre, Ambulance, HR

All Checklists