A lanyard might seem like a simple thing that you do not give a great deal of thought to, but in the healthcare industry, it can be essential. A lanyard provides a great many functions whilst also providing higher levels of hygiene and safety than many other alternatives. Here are a few of the reasons why every healthcare setting should use them and take advantage of their benefits.
Staff identity
Whether you work in a hospital, care home, doctors’ surgery or any other healthcare setting, it is important to know who is who. Wearing a lanyard makes this easy to see as not only their names are displayed but also other useful information such as job titles and departments.
This not only makes it easier to know who you are talking to, but also makes it a much more straight forward task to seek out the right member of staff. This quick identification of a member of staff can be of paramount importance in the event of an emergency.
Safety
Keeping your patients safe should always be your number one priority, this is one of the most important things you should consider. A lanyard can help to do this in a number of ways. By insisting that everyone wears one, it becomes easy to see who a staff member is, and who is a visitor.
Photo identification on the lanyard means that you can always be sure that the person you are talking to is exactly who they say they are and that they are where they are supposed to be. This is extremely important when to comes to protecting patients who may be at their most vulnerable.
Badge protection
In a healthcare setting, a lot of name badges and identity cards can become lost or damaged due to the nature of the environment. A lanyard offers protection for the identity card through keeping it secure and due to the size of it and the fact that it hangs around the neck instead of being pinned to clothing, it is much more difficult to lose. The protective covering also means that it is easy to clean, making it a much more hygienic option.
Access
A lot of lanyards are not just used for identity purposes, they can also be used to gain access to certain parts of the setting, ensuring certain people have the correct credentials to gain access to certain areas. Many also work as access cards that can ensure that only the right people are given access to particular areas, whether they are specialist wards or medicine stores.
Extra information
Typically, lanyards are thought to only hold identity cards and badges, but they can also contain other useful information, such as door cards. As they are worn all of the time, they can be used to carry essential information such as emergency procedures or shift times, which can make things such as communication more effective within the workplace and other business settings.
No sharp edges
Whilst name badges can look very professional, they often present their own hazards as most of them are fixed in place using a pin, sharp objectives that could potentially cause harm. This can be particularly hazardous in a healthcare setting and could be responsible for an injury to a patient or staff member. Lanyards eliminate this risk and help to keep everybody safe.
Consistency
A lanyard can help to ensure that there is some consistency amongst your staff. With everyone from a surgeon to a cleaner wearing the same style of lanyard, they become easy to wear and easy to read. Everyone has the same expectations of them, and every lanyard can contain all of the information that is needed.
Lanyards are becoming more popular across a wide range of industries due to their versatility in different business sectors and different uses, but particularly healthcare because they offer a sophisticated and practical solution to identity. They help to promote safety and security and can help to ensure that everyone can locate the member of staff that they need.
Author Bio
Malcolm Humphreys is the Director of We Print Lanyards, a family business who specialise in recycled custom lanyards, ID cards and name badges for the NHS and healthcare sector, security matters, seasonal events and more.
