The Comprehensive Security Plan for Hopeville Medical

Introduction

The project for Security Plan for Hopeville Medical was designed to identify risks to the hospital’s assets and the business itself. The current analysis is designed to complete the following objectives:

Employ information risk assessment to categorize the various forms of risk that the company is being exposed to. This will also categorize assets and rate various forms of vulnerabilities to allow for effective controls.
Identify both external and internal security risks and policies that would allow for management of the same. This includes an analysis of the compliance measures required by the health industry. Such compliance measures have been changing in the past decade, creating a major risk to the hospital in the business and operational measures.
Coordinate the policies within the hospital allowing for risk management. This means minimizing losses that would accrue from the exposure of the business. This means protecting the assets and ensuring the achievement of the business goals.

Hope Ville Medical center has operated without a proper security plan, thereby becoming exposed to a majority of risks that are not only external but also internal. Although there have been some existing controls and management measures, they have often proved to less than effective, they also lack in terms of sustainability and are more prone to face threats themselves instead of becoming solutions. By prioritizing the risks that the medical center is likely to encounter in a specific period of time, there is more likelihood of selecting the most appropriate response. When the medical center is ready for the risk, there is the likelihood of reducing losses that would indeed cripple the business operations. Indeed solutions to potential risks may also highlight some potential opportunities from the same.

Incidents to be reported

Accident and Injury: within the hospital itself, many workers and even patients are often exposed to simple injuries. Injuries that accrue from the work environment need to be reported immediately before any form of treatment is began. This means that injuries must be clearly recorded, giving details of the event and procuring evidence of the same injury.

Death: perhaps the biggest incident within the medical center is death. Patients lose their life even after careful treatment and care by doctors. In some cases, death may result in legal problems where families and friends feel that the care given to the patient was not adequate. To avoid the risk the hospital is exposed to such incidents need to be carefully documented.

Physical security: in the current global system, problems of physical security in major institutions and especially in hospitals have been recurrent. Small incidents in physical security are often likely to translate into bigger security matters. Any perceived threat to the physical security of the hospital itself, patients within, and the hospital workers must be reported immediately.

Workplace violence: occurs in a wide range from simple threats to assaults and battery within the medical facility. It is important to note that it affects not just workers but also patients who feel harassed within the medical center, coerced, and even threatened to agree with the analysis of doctors.

Fraud incidents: this is whereby hospital workers can collude with other stakeholders and even patients to defraud the hospital of the income due to them. This could lead to a decrease in the quality of service and income earned by the medical center.

Compliance incidents: hospitals operate under the guideline put forward by the health ministry. These guidelines are often changing, exposing the hospital to the risk of being non-compliant which could easily earn the punishment of hefty fines and suspension of licenses. Incidences of compliance for the workers and the medical center should be reported immediately (Sennewald 1990).

Expectations for reporting incidents

[20]. For example, the course of nation-state building that took place in the 19^th and 20^th century and society militarization, as well as the warlordism, are two processes that provide Evidence: the biggest concern when making reports is the presence of refutable evidence of the security risk, the event and how it occurred. Evidence helps the medical center to follow up easily, complete investigations, and find fault, and decree the most sustainable way forward in terms of solutions.

Zero-tolerance: there are times and in some incidences where the actors or those involved could easily intimidate and harass witnesses so that incidences are not reported. For example, in the case of death where doctors may have been at fault, nurses and technicians may fail to report fearing for their jobs having been intimidated. However, it is important to note that all incidents however small need to be reported despite the individuals involved.

Documentation: for some incidences, there may be a need to document the events as they occurred and progressed even to the final incident.

Witnesses: where witnesses are available they should be involved in the reporting of the incidence. However, individuals should not be discouraged by the need for witnesses, where witnesses are not available other forms of research should address pediatric infections and resistant organisms in Aseptic Technique for peripheral IV insertion. There are much evidence can be used.

Follow up: the majority of the incidents are reported to immediate supervisors for purposes of simple access. However, follow up with higher authorities may be necessary where actions have not been taken.

Confidentiality: all matters that are reported will be dealt with confidentially. In fact, where individuals feel they need to report the matter anonymously such will be made possible. All members involved in an incident can be assured of confidentiality, where their protection will be guaranteed in terms of physical security, emotional wellbeing, and protection of reputation.

Finally, all individuals need to note that no punishment, harassment, or even negative impact will arise from their reporting of particular security incidents. There are often cases where individuals feel they will face backlash and therefore opt to not report the matters until they have escalated far and beyond security incidents to be dealt with internally.

Procedures for making reports

The majority of the workers seem unaware of the reporting procedure. When an incident occurs within the workplace there are several supervisory managers within the medical center to whom special matters need to be reported. For example, matters related to financial security can be reported to the accounts manager. Also, all stakeholders have a right to report matters to supervisory bodies within the organization. Incidents can be reported in writing through phone calls or a simple visit to the right offices which is often the best procedure to follow.

Responses

Once an incident has been reported, the immediate steps that follow include gathering evidence appropriately. This is often done through internal investigations in the medical center. When internal investigators feel they are not adequately equipped, or where independent investigators are needed external agents may be contracted or called upon as provided by the right institutions. Each step is carefully documented for later evidence and when investigations are concluded, the medical center with the help of the right organizations determines the right solutions to the problems.

Performance standards

Knowledge and skills

Quality assurance: this attests to how well patients are treated in the medical center. For a large center such as the medical center, quality in treatment gives a chance for growth and entry into new markets. Quality in the standards of performance attests to the accuracy of treatment procedures, the effectiveness of treatment, and usefulness of the services provided by the hospital. When the hospital appears to have quality and effective services, more and more patients will seek out care in the institution.

Quantity: with medical institutions sometimes there is much focus on increased quality at the cost of quantity. However, this often means that the cost of treatment increases significantly for the few patients who are lucky to afford the services. To avoid this, the hospital staff and workers will focus on both increasing qualities while at the same time increasing the number of patients.

Monitoring and inspection

Timeliness: for patients, treatment not only means effectiveness but also timeliness. A lax in time even with a few minutes could become costly in terms of extended treatment, effective procedures, and even life. Each individual within the hospital is taxed with the responsibility of ensuring that services are provided in good time.

Cost-effectiveness: many issues have been raisedabout the continued increase of prices in healthcare. The medical institution should work hard to ensure that the services provided

Preventive maintenance and testing of the security department

It is important to have the knowledge that the security system indeed will work when it is needed to work and in the same way it is required to work. This means constantly testing the system to divulge loopholes that may be existing within the system. Some various needs and benefits accrue from proper maintenance:

Ensures that the system is indeed in working order. This may mean simulating security cases, conducting continued drills to ensure that the system which has already been set up is working as ideally as possible.
Reduces the probability of false alarms which could cause increased panic within the institutions. When security is questioned, patients, doctors, and even other stakeholders are less inclined to be associated with the institution (Fay 2006).

Proposal for security management

Security personnel: at every point of the day the hospital shall employ at least six personnel who shall be attired in a manner that makes them easily identifiable. Two of the personnel will be stationed at the parking lot. Two of the same will be located at the gate where they will record entries, hand in cards for parking, check identification, and complete security measures. The final two will be located within the security room, constantly monitoring the security footage for any security matters and events that may arise.

Security supervisor: for this team, there will be a need for a general supervisor who will set the guidelines for security. The supervisor will also be in charge of dealing with security events and filing reports on the same. The security supervisor will also be responsible for reporting to the managers about various security matters in the company. People involved in altercations within the premises even workers will be reported to the supervisor in charge. Because the medical facility operates for 24 hours, the supervisors will be two for each shift to allow for rest. Constant rotation will be required to maintain objectivity in the workplace.

Chief security officer: this will be an individual with an exemplary record in security having worked and managed the security offices in various institutions. He will be responsible for investigations on various security matters in the company. Also, he will set up policies and management guidelines for the various personnel. He will also be responsible for ensuring that the security personnel is performing to the best of their ability.

Expected budgetary increases

There is currently some personnel such as the chief information officer whose salary is already present and accounted for in the current budgets. However, for the new personnel, the following increments in the monthly and yearly budgets are expected:

Personnel	Cost type	Monthly salary	Annual salary
Chief security officer	Salary and benefits	Salary: $900 Benefits (medical): $120 Housing: $400 $1420	$10800 $1440 $4800 $17040
Security officer	Salary	$1100	$13200
Security supervisor	Salary and benefits	Salary: $600 Housing: $250 $850	Salary: $7200 Housing:$3000 $10200

Benefits of the staff

Chief security officer: a chief security officer is an ideal individual in terms of identifying loopholes before security risks are experienced. Often this means that the hospital will enjoy decreased losses in terms of enduring security events.

Security supervisor: this individual will be in charge of ensuring that the security personnel are not only qualified but are also equipped in the right manner to ensure high levels of security within the company.

Security officers: will be responsible for the day-to-day security measures within the medical institution. They will keep patients and workers safe at all times.

Emergency preparedness

Bioterrorism and Mass Casualties

As a medical facility, the center is at the forefront of possible terrorist attacks while at the same time being a forefront center from which bioterrorism can be detected and dealt with. With the increase in bio-terrorism possibilities, it has become vital to include several policies that allow for treatment and care during a bioterrorism attack:

Availability of contact information: it has been noted that often nurses and medical personnel who suspect a bio-terrorism attack lack the right contacts of offices where they can gain advice and report their suspicions. Immediately a suspicion or detection is suspected, emergency contacts should be utilized immediately. All departments need to include a list of contact numbers for every suspicion, attached in the most significant and open place. This ensures that contact is made immediately, the advice is offered quickly and the attack is dealt with adequately before it begins spreading.
Knowledge of protocol: for each form of attack several protocols have been put in place by the Centre for disease control to curb the spread and minimize casualties. All workers in the medical center are to be taken through proper training on the various protocols that they should apply. The majority of the spread of infections often happen in the first few hours as workers ignore protocol, thereby exposing more and more individuals to the possibility of becoming casualties of a terrorist attack. (McCrie 2007) states that with proper implementation of proper protocols, bio-terrorism casualties and the spread of infections can be reduced by as much as half.

Fire prevention

All stakeholders, workers, and patients within the hospital should be made aware of the necessary fire protocols. The medical center itself includes the necessary plans which workers have been trained and made aware of, to ensure that casualties are reduced greatly in case of fire. It should be noted that in the medical center, plans need to include care and evacuation of patients who may not be able to walk and some who are attached to life support machines. Without proper practice and knowledge through training, casualties in a medical center can be very high. All staff is to be trained constantly and given at least two escape routes through which they can leave the hospital. Unfortunately by giving one possible escape route however good, this route is, there is likely to be loss of lives and increased injury through crowding and panic as individuals attempt to escape the fire.

Practice through drills: despite constant training, it is often possible for individuals to forget their training in moments of panic. It is for this reason that (Franke 2002) indicates that the workers should be taken through practice drills to improve the state of memory. Through constant drills, the reactions and proper protocols become ingrained. For example, individuals may be aware that they need to feel doors before opening them, to avoid walking into a raging fire. However, during moments of panic, they are more likely to run around opening doors causing the fire to spread much faster. With practice, however, the steps become ingrained and the body reacts automatically as it has been trained to do.

Physical facilities: have all been improved, all rooms include open windows which are not barred and escape routes.

Bomb threats

In the current global status reports of bomb threats have become common and especially in large institutions such as the hospital. Unfortunately, few people know how to deal with bomb threats majority often reacting by panic while others ignore the threats until it is too late. Hopeville medical center includes the following as part of the protocol necessary in dealing with bomb threats.

Dealing with the caller or individual reporting the bomb threat, where possible such an individual should be kept on call for a long time to allow authorities a proper and adequate time to trace the call. On the same level, if possible it is needful to get the details of the bomb threat. These include the location of the bomb, possible details of the expected casualties among other details. This allows authorities to deal with the bomb faster before it explodes.
Immediately after the reports of the bomb threat, it is important to report the matter to the relevant authorities immediately. Unfortunately, there are many who panic making the collection of information difficult, therefore it is important to remain calm and give as many details as possible.

Hostage situations

When individuals find themselves in a hostage situation, there are two necessary steps that they should take to defuse the situation:

To begin with, they are expected to adhere to all demands by the hostage-taker. This reduces the chances of becoming casualties and worsening an already bad situation.
Where possible, they should raise alarm immediately using the carefully disguised alarm buttons. This will give authorities ample time to record, master, and deal with the situation adequately.

Incident reporting form

This form is to be completed in case of the following:

An individual has been injured, requires treatment or first aid within the hospital premises. This is not subject to patients only; it also includes incidents involving the medical workers and staff.
Individuals within the hospital have been exposed to violence, harassment, assault, or verbal abuse.
An unusual incident has occurred which in turn has jeopardized the safety of those within the medical center premises. This includes exposure to a threatening situation.

Date of incident: Time which incident occurred:

Name/ description of those who were involved in the incident

Contact information

Telephone:

Address:

Email:

Nature of incident

Describe the event giving sufficient details

For example in the case of an assault. Two personnel from the hospital were involved in an altercation. The doctor dressed in blue slapped the nurse dressed in white across the face. Verbal abuse ensued in the presence of patients, with the doctor and nurse insulting each other before they were separated by a technician who sought the help of colleagues. The doctor walked away angrily, while the nurse was left being consoled by colleagues

Were there possible injuries

Yes, the nurse was injured across the face and was quite shaken up by the entire incident. Also, the technician had a dislocated finger from attempts to separate the fighting parties

Who were the affected parties?

Nurse Y and Doctor X were fighting and the technician attempted to separate them from each other. Also, patients who were at the reception were quite shaken up by the entire incident which took at least five minutes.

Checklist for the Maintenance of Security Equipment

Machinery identification Number:

Type of machinery (for example security CCTV camera and video)

Year of purchase:

Last date of servicing/ maintenance:

Incidents reported: for example on date X, the cameras on block B of the women’s ward shut down for a few minutes. This caused widespread panic before the repair was made. For the few hours, nothing was recorded or released from the cameras in this location. However, the repair report did indicate that although the cameras were not tampered with, the cross wires had caused a malfunction which resulted in overheating of the cameras and final shut down which the nature of the incident report was.

Problems are seen during the maintenance: such as possible overheating, increased or decreased function of the machines decreased effectiveness in performing the expected task.

Possible solutions: during maintenance, there are possibilities of encountering possible risks in the use of particular machinery. In this case, possible solutions should be put in place. When the risk occurs or is realized, then the solutions that were put forth in the first place are employed. This allows the machinery to be back on track in good time and effectively without causing much loss to the hospital.

Test run results: this outlines the effectiveness of the machinery in completing the tasks that it is expected to. Professionals put to task the machinery, setting various tasks and measuring the time and quality of solutions that it offers, these results can be compared with results from previous monitoring reports to find the exact effective measurements of the machinery and determine whether the same are increasing or decreasing.

Checklist for bomb threat calls

This allows the staff to check if all protocols have been adhered to. While the knowledge of what to do in theory may be present, during times of pressure and panic, it is easy to forget even the smallest of details which could lead to massive casualties in the case of bomb threats. The checklist allows confirming that all has been adhered to.

Alert the relevant authorities: the first thing to do when a bomb threat has been issued is to call the authorities. In the call the following details should be given:

Address where the location of the bomb is to be expected, in this case, Hopeville medical center. This may also include directions to the institution.
Nature of the bomb threat, to allow the authorities to gauge possible target areas and also aid in further investigations into the matter.

Engage evacuation procedures: this means removing all individuals from the target area and assembling at the already pointed out evacuation points. Do not wait for the authorities to confirm the bomb threat before evacuation. Immediately after altering the authorities, the next step is in evacuating the building.

Account for all individuals: this means giving the supervisors the authority to account for all patients and workers in the wings and departments of the hospitals. This ensures that in case of an explosion, casualties may not be necessary.

Wait for the all-clear: once the authorities have taken over the building, they will assess the threat, check the possible target areas, and finally give the final signal allowing people to re-enter the building. All individuals should be warned against re-entering before the all-clear signal has been given.

Performance Improvement Projects

A part of performance improvement is reliant on security and safety. (Vellani 2007) found that when workers feel safer, they are more likely to work harder and in essence perform better at their workplace. With this in mind, the Hopeville medical center has in the past focused on increased compensation and performance evacuations which although vital have not improved the feelings of safety and security. Decreased state of security has also led to continued staff resignation and human resource flow. This has become costly to the hospital where there is always a need for the medical center to train new staff and integrate them into the system. As they become comfortable with the new worker, they leave because of various reasons, strong among them being the feelings of insecurity and unsafety in the workplace. Medical personnel needs to feel that the hospital is doing all it can to ensure their own safety and to regulate any security incidents that are likely to occur in the workplace. This makes them feel that they are important and that the management cares for them, not just their skills.

Conclusion:

The Hopeville medical center indeed has some form of security regulations; however, they are far from enough to cater for the incidents. It should be noted that some incidents including exposure to violence have not been included within the security measures. The hospital has indeed focused on possible external threats and carefully structured policies that minimize casualties from the external threats. However, little if anything has been done to cater to internal security cases. As (Blyth 2008) shows internal cases are most likely to cause implosion whereby they increase greatly in significance ending up as large external cases that are difficult to deal with and detrimental to the reputation of the hospital.

Hospital or workplace violence rates highest among the incidents that cause insecurity of the workers. Many workers within the hospital feel they are not adequately trained or equipped to deal with workplace violence. The majority continue to suffer silently, a case which has led to increased turnover among the workers while at the same time decreasing the quality of services. Workers are more stressed at work especially for victims facing harassment from senior personnel with no clear strategy on how to confidentially report the matter and get help. These employees become distracted from work, they are also less productive and more likely to make costly mistakes. Furthermore, the tension can also be distracting to other needs to be differentiated from other training and development needs. The company has developed a strategy where the individual employees.

Recommendations

The medical center needs to set up a clear policy and strategy dealing with internal insecurity. In the same way, internal marketing and the interactive marketing. The service triangle is premised that when organizations attend to their employees are aware of how to deal with bomb threats and fire hazards, they should be made aware of the procedures that are in place to secure them from threats within the organization. This means ensuring employees that no punishment will accrue from reporting cases of internal security and also taking measures to assure victims of confidentiality.

Furthermore, the workers in Hope Ville are aware of the security measures in theory. They can quote the security handbooks which they have not only read but have been trained to adhere to in seminars. However, when such knowledge is put to the test through drills, it becomes lacking. The majority of the employees have no idea what to do practically in the light of insecurity. This is quite concerning as this means that in cases of insecurity casualties are likely to increase before people can remember what they are to do. It is therefore the recommendation of this project that the employees are taken through various drills which will allow them to use the knowledge practically, thereby internalizing the movements and procedures.

Actions

Training: training allows the different individuals to gain the necessary knowledge about the security measures in place. Majority of the workers within the institution lack even basic awareness of possible security threats and the procedures that are necessary for dealing with the same. This increases significantly the possibility of casualties and escalation of the situation.

Drills and practice: even with the theoretical knowledge, the workers need constant drills which decrease the level of panic and increase the confidence required to deal with particular situations calmly. Commonly, panic takes over and people forget what they have been taught.

Project details

Problem: Hopeville medical center has been at the point of major pending security cases. The hospital management has realized that despite putting in place what they thought were excellent policies, there are increased chances of insecurity within the medical premises. (Ortmeier 2005) states that hospitals in themselves are breeding grounds for insecurity. External threats often target vulnerable institutions such as medical centers where there are several weak points. Also, there are higher chances of casualties and these institutions can cause a wide state of panic which leads to crowding and trampling. Also, there are even more people who are incapacitated and cannot move. For this reason, it has become apparent that the hospital needs to put in place strong security measures that will ensure the security of personnel and patients.

Further, the medical center has also realized that security was closely tied with quality within the medical industry. When workers are feeling more secure, they are more likely to work harder and there are fewer chances of increased turnover. In the current state of global panic, it has been found that workers and especially those in vulnerable institutions such as hospitals are more concerned about their safety than the compensation packages.

Discussion: Several policies will be put in place to ensure an increase in the safety of the personnel and those within the institution premises. Whereas past policies have focused more on external safety, the current policies will concern both external and internal policies.

Internal security: this concerns mostly incidents that are likely to occur within the hospital premises. Incidences such as injuries, exposure to infections, and workplace violence have often been ignored. However, workers need to feel that these matters are also being put under consideration to guarantee their safety. Such matters should be reported officially and handled carefully through proper reported the case. Recognizing this, the organization launched an analyzing reasons of youth offenders and mental illness. It helps to determine the information based on the responses collected and the investigation channel. If the investigations are slow, workers may feel they are being ignored and fail to report the matters.

External Security: this is mainly the responsibility of security personnel who will be employed by the company. They will ensure that all individuals entering the premises are assessed for potential threats. Their main responsibility is to minimize the risk of external security. This is because external threats are more likely to lead to a higher number of casualties than internal threats. This however does not mean that any of them should take precedence.

Design and measurement: the project will employ survey methods where the information will be gathered on the current state of security. Based on this information, there will be continued assessments that are designed to guarantee the best alternative from the same. Workers, patients, and other stakeholders will be given the chance to select the best of the alternatives that are presented to them. For example, in the case of workplace violence workers may be requested to choose between reporting to a supervisor about an incident or reporting to specific personnel on the same matter. The alternative chosen by a majority of employees will then be analyzed for possible loopholes before being given a test run within the hospital.

Quantitative statistical methods will be employed to measure the relationship between various variables in the security management system. By measuring co-existing variables the project will be able to find which of the alternatives is most ideal and which will produce a better chance of meeting and securing the goals of a business within the institution. There are fewer chances of failure and risk if the relationship and changes have already been calculated and the risk of each has been calculated and mitigated.

Goals and objectives of the project: the project is directed at making Hopeville one of the most secure premises within the state. Also, the project directs itself at ensuring that the hospital becomes compliant with security measures that have been put in place for hospitals to strictly adhere to. Failure of compliance could lead to suspension of licenses and increased public relations nightmares.

Thirdly, the project considers the possibility of decreasing cases of security incidents within the hospital. It is not only about reporting security matters; there is also a need to reduce the occurrence of the same to increase profitability and quality of service.

Results: the project will lead to an increasingly secure environment in Hopeville. With increased security, personnel is more likely to be calm, less harried, and more satisfied in the job environment. Individuals need the hospital to show concern and care for their own safety. This guarantees increased production while at the same time reducing turnover. When employees feel their safety has been disregarded they are more likely to be enticed by new opportunities. In this way, therefore, the project will also lead to decreased levels of turnover.

Assessment: the project will be assessed in terms of quality and increased productivity within the hospital. It is to be remembered that the project aims at increasing the efficiency between the safety of individuals and the quality services provided by the institution. Assessment will be done independently to guarantee the information validity as it will be gathered. The assessment of the project will indeed determine if what was expected from the project that is increased productivity through security has been achieved. Also, it will determine the sustainability of the project in terms of ease of implementation as well as cost. Where costs are quite high it is indeed quite possible for the project to lack sustainability, and the same applies where the project itself is too complex.

Performance Improvement Project Selection

This tool is designed to assist the hospital to determine the viability of a possible project and prioritize each project. It should be noted that although a performance improvement project sounds good on paper, it may not actually be viable practically. There are some chances that it will become stalled and in doing so become a costly investment for the institution. In the same way, some projects are viable but are not necessarily important currently to the medical center. Determining the right project to implement is key to the success of the company.

Impact of the customer: quality of services is not measured by the hospital itself but rather by the customer. It is the customer who determines if Hopeville products are better than other hospitals. It, therefore, follows that the first thing to consider is the kind of impact that the project will have on the customer. This means going into the market and actually determining what the customer needs are and how the project can be structured to meet these needs.

Project stability: customers are often thrown off by continuous changes in the process of acquiring services. It is therefore important to determine whether the project changes will be sustainable in terms of cost and effectiveness.

Clarity of the solution: the projects are designed to bring about a solution to the company. Such a solution should be clearly understood otherwise the project becomes too complex. When the project is too complex, then immediate results are not achievable and morale is decreased.

Emergency Preparedness – Fire Prevention

Fire is one of the disasters that are likely to spread so fast and claim many victims along the way in terms of property and even lives if not carefully dealt with. Several drills have taken place in the hospital but just to ensure that all individuals are aware of the necessary steps to take when there is a fire, this tool is designed to educate on the same.

Know where you are: there are fewer chances of panic if you are familiar with an area. This means marking all forms of exits and entry into the room where you are. This reduces the risk of panic and steeping into the wrong doors or injuring yourself while trying to escape. This is especially important for rooms where you spend the majority of your time. master the steps it takes to get in and out of the room so that in case of a fire, you can automatically get out of the room even when blinded by smoke.

Because fire almost always causes serious blinding where you cannot clearly see where you are going, you may need to crawl through doorways and pathways to safety. The lower you go, the better the eye level and also the fewer chances that one will be infected by smock inhalation before getting to safety.

If the alarm has not sounded, one may need to manually pull the alarm to alert others of the presence of the fire. Remember, the faster the alarm sounds, the faster the evacuation, and the fewer the lives that are put at risk.

Finally, evacuate the building as fast as possible gathering at nearby safety centers to be accounted for.

Workplace Violence

Workplace violence is not just about actual physical assault, several other situations often result in becoming workplace violence and these include:

Feeling threatened: such as when individuals raise their voices or shake their fists threatening physical assault
Verbal threats: This could also be delivered in book reading, conducting library research, doing investigations on the web, and attending lectures. Although observing and writing threatening an individual of possible bodily harm.
Verbal abuse: which is now no longer a threat but actual use of demeaning words, insults, and derogative statements that belittle individuals

When individuals within the hospital engage in the above example of activities and others which may fall in the same categories, they should be immediately reported, so that investigation can ensue immediately and proper actions can be taken. As workers within the hospital, there may be increased risks of workplace violence because:

The hospital deals with the public, which means that it brings in a variety of customers who are likely to be violent or expose the workers to violent situations.
The hospital deals with an increased number of vulnerable situations, patients who are in pain, some who have been injured violently, others who are suffering from psychological trauma, and yet others who have relatives and friends concerned for their welfare. In this highly charged environment, emotions are likely to take precedence exposing the workers to violence.
The hospital is open for 24 hours which means that there is staff present within the hospital even during late hours. During such hours there is a possible increase in criminal activity which in turn exposes the night shift workers to an increasing number of violent crimes.
The hospital is also susceptible to violence from addicts as they seek a supply of drugs.

Incident Reporting

The following are situations where one may find the need to file an incident report:

You have been an actor or victim in a particular incident. For example, if you have been injured at work. It is important to file out the report which can become part of the supporting documents in the case investigation.
You have witnessed an incident, perhaps a colleague being exposed to a violent situation. Reporting this immediately allows for the protection of the same colleague and gives the relevant authority the right amount of time to react and find a solution to the same.
You suspect that an incident is about to take place. This allows the management to deal with the matter before it begins escalating and getting out of hand.

All cases should be reported to the security offices or immediate supervisors. One can pick whoever they are comfortable with and make the report. It is important to note that utmost confidentiality is adhered to protecting your reputation, and ensuring your own security.

References

Blyth, M. (2008). Risk and security management: Protecting people and sites worldwide. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.

Fay, J. (2006). Contemporary security management. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann.

Franke, V. (2002). Security in a changing world: Case studies in U.S. national security management. Westport, Conn: Praeger

McCrie, R. D. (2007). Security operations management. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann/Elsevier.

Sennewald, C. A. (2003). Effective security management. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann

Ortmeier, P. J. (2005). Security management: An introduction. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Vellani, K. H. (2007). Strategic security management: A risk assessment guide for decision-makers. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Safeguarding Hopeville Medical: A Holistic Security Strategy | Comprehensive Security Plan