ABSTRACT
Health and safety in a clinical environment involves everyone working in the National Health Service (NHS), and medical secretaries, receptionists and all other administrative personnel should work together as a team to promote good practice. Receptionists and secretaries should be aware of hazards arising from the handling, transport, storage and disposal of hazardous substances. Receptionists in general practice may find that patients leave various specimens on the reception counter unwrapped. It is the receptionist's duty to protect herself and colleagues from potential infection by handling these specimens correctly. The National Patient Safety Agency was set up to tackle and improve the safety of patients in the NHS by learning from patient safety incidents and service failure in the NHS. The role of the local security management specialists will draw together many different aspects of security management, starting with their highest priority, namely tackling violence against NHS staff.
