published_or_final_version / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Nursing

This study investigated the health and injury risks faced by emergency medical workers in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality. The aim of the study was to establish the emergency worker`s awareness, level of knowledge and attitude to practices of health and safety issues. The study sample consisted of eighty (80) emergency medical workers stationed in Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage. A self- administered questionnaire was developed and used in an empirical survey to collect data from the respondents on information such as health and safety knowledge, behavior, experiences, attitudes, beliefs and opinions in their workplace. The results of the study indicated that 90% of the workers experienced all occupational hazards identified in the questionnaire. Percutaneous injuries were found to be at 48%, PTSD was rated at 40% due to horrific accidents and incidents complicated by violent threats and armed robberies with emergency workers being victims. Musculoskeletal injuries were found to be very common. Ordinary stress was caused by dissatisfaction over human resources issues and structural changes by the management internally. The findings revealed that some workers took incapacity leave for long periods, sometimes more than three years at a time. The emergency workers are at high risk of being infected by ordinary TB or the more complex type, the DR-TB in their line of duty. The study revealed that there were no health and safety structures in the institution; as a result there was no formal documenting and identification of hazards in order to implement measures to protect the workers from future incidences. Health related absenteeism was high when employees were exposed to such hazards and replacement of skill was not implemented. The main recommendations included wearing of personal protective equipment, safe disposal of sharps objects, guidelines for lifting objects, introduction of organizational safety culture and safe transportation of PTB patients.