Wai Kuen Kam
Singapore General Hospital, Singapore
Title: Human factor and operating considerations for door lockset design for patient bathrooms in a tertiary acute hospital
Biography
Biography: Wai Kuen Kam
Abstract
In the analysis of patient fall incidents occurring in the patient bathroom/toilet, there was a relationship seen between the door lockset design, patient human factor, the operating requirements of patientcare and ease of emergency rescue. The mismatch of these four criteria was one of the contributory factors to the falls. The purpose of the research was to evaluate that relationship and to categorise it in a way that could be easily used by healthcare facilities planners for improvement works and in the planning of new patient care facilities. 130 patient bathroom and toilet door locksets in an acute hospital were surveyed to evaluate the design features of door handle type, latch and lock bolts, ‘in-use’ indicators and external lock release mechanisms. The design features were evaluated against the design criteria of universal design, patient human factors, patientcare operating requirement, and ease of emergency rescue. Out of the 9 door lockset designs found, there was one that met all the 4 criteria. That design was then established for use in all future patient bathroom/toilet door projects in the hospital. The findings also revealed those patient bathroom door locksets that could pose difficulties in patient rescue and those were prioritised for rectification. It is acknowledged that patient collapse and rescue from hospital bathrooms/toilets are multi-factorial but the paper aimed to eliminate the factor due to door lockset design.