Evaluation of safety standards in medical diagnostic laboratory in Kerman in 2014

Compliance with safety standards before setting up a work is absolutely essential. All procedures being followed in a clinical laboratory entail potential risks. The Staff of a clinical laboratory are constantly exposed to a variety of physical, chemical, and biological risks. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety standards of clinical diagnostic laboratories, both the private and public ones, in Kerman city in 2014. The safety of warehouses, equipment, and ergonomics of the laboratories were evaluated. Four clinical diagnostic laboratories of Kerman Medical Science University along with 21 private laboratories were evaluated and all the necessary information was obtained through interviews and observations. The information was then analyzed using statistical methods. The results revealed that in the 25 observed laboratories of Kerman city, the percentage of safety compliance components in the warehouse safety section, equipment and ergonomics were different as the obtained mean and deviation score of the warehouse safety in clinical diagnostic laboratories is 24/3 ± 6.9, whilethe obtained mean and deviation score of public laboratories is 15.7 ± 5.4, andthat of the private laboratories is 25.9 ± 5.9. None of the public laboratories had favorable safety. The obtained mean and deviation score of laboratory equipment safety in public laboratories is 11.2 ± 1.7 and private laboratories is 4.0 ± 2.1. The obtained mean and deviation score of the ergonomics standards in clinical laboratories is 3.9 ± 1.5, while it is 3.5 ± 1.3 for public laboratories and 4.0 ± 1.6 for private ones.The safety standards in the observed laboratories were not desirable and thus, to promote safety in different parts, essential steps ought to be taken using the modern methods of safety management.