Post-COVID-19, a lot of focus in healthcare is on infection control, patient flow, spatial demands, sterilisation, flexibility of spaces, and patient experience. While patient privacy is supreme, how can hospitals ensure healthcare workers' and staff's privacy? Healthcare professionals work long shifts without much rest or break time and need private spaces to rest, eat, change dresses, and store belongings. Storage furniture or a small storage cabinet for storing employee clothing and other essentials can boost morale while maintaining privacy. Storage cabinets can help retain valuable, hard-to-replace workers with enhanced comfort amid long work hours in rigorous conditions. Let us explore how choosing proper storage cabinets and a personal locker can boost healthcare professionals morale.
Why Do Healthcare Staff Need Storage Furniture?
- Healthcare professionals like nurses, doctors, or other staff work tirelessly to provide the best possible patient care, irrespective of rotating shifts. Staff coming in for their shift must change their clothing into medical scrubs/uniforms, most of which are either disposed of or laundered within the workplace after use. A soothing space with proper chairs and locker unit storage like Rafel storage can help them relax and get ready for the next shift.
- A locker room with a storage almirah can make nurses feel valued by giving ample storage space to store personal essentials and changing dresses. In most cases, clinical staff cannot carry their belongings, including wallets, keys, and phones, inside the patient room/while on duty. Also, cabinets for storage ensure that items don't get mixed up or lost. Gradually, staff concentrate better because they know their belongings are safe and secure within the vault storage.
- Storage furniture, day-use locker unit storage, or a side table with storage can enhance staff convenience with features like vented doors, electric plug-ins, charging ports, etc. Nurses/doctors/ other staff can easily store their personal medications, electronic devices, and other belongings with easy accessibility.
- The added security from the vault unit storage can help prevent thefts and accidental losses of staff's possessions while reducing workplace conflicts.
- Healthcare worker's storage cupboards provide enhanced organisation and a tidier locker room without clutter.
- Although healthcare professionals come in different shifts, they can own their personalised spaces and access storage cabinets whenever they want. Nurses and doctors will feel valued and satisfied because they can lock away clothes during working hours.
- The separate cabinets for storage are easy to frequently disinfect/sanitise while reducing the infection spread in hospitals.
- While the secure facility of file storage cabinets safeguards staff's essentials, there will be no room for worry or the urge to check up on their things frequently, impacting the overall hospital staff efficiency. Clinical staff tend to be more productive with improved morale.
Factors to Look For While Choosing Storage Cabinets And Personal Lockers
Grabbing storage cupboards that complement the needs of healthcare staff is often overlooked in most healthcare systems, leading to productivity drains and poor staff morale. While maintaining a vault can give long-term benefits for safeguarding valuable assets and staff's personal belongings, carefully selecting them with the utmost protection against theft and damage can make a huge difference. Factors like multiple layers of authentication, alarm systems, video surveillance, other locking mechanisms, and the below features are necessary to give peace of mind to all the shift timing staff and improve their productivity levels. Let us dive deep into the storage cabinet must-have features below:
Consider Security Features
The locking mechanism plays a pivotal role when choosing functional file storage cabinets. A storage almirah with electronic, biometric, or dual key control systems can offer enhanced protection and easy accessibility.
Look for Suitable Latches and Hinges
A continuous hinge that runs the full door length can hinder hinge movement and be long-lasting. It aids in door closing in the long run. Single-point latches can be beneficial to avoid dents in the locker frame, especially in very rugged environments. However, multi-point latches provide more security because forcing the door open will be difficult with more latch points.
Ventilation
Ensure the side table with storage cabinets offers proper ventilation that cuts odours or mildew. While large ventilation can expose the clinical staff belongings, choosing vaulter storage units with vents on the door or integrated into locker frames can balance privacy and security.
Noise
Opting for small storage cabinets in busy corridors can be a space-saving yet functional option in a healthcare setup with limited space. However, choosing lockers and file storage cabinets with rigid construction and quiet closure mechanisms can reduce noise directly/indirectly.
Size and Capacity
Assess the total number of nurses, doctors and other staff in the present and future before choosing storage cupboards. The capacity and size of the storage almirah should be such that it encompasses all staff needs while giving room for future locker additions.
Installation and Location
Consider the nurse's accessibility and discreteness of the location, away from patient wards, for privacy and less patient disturbance.
Durability
Pick vault storage and a small storage cabinet that stands tall on durability with knockdown structure and rigidity.
Staff Safety and Maintenance
Ergonomically designed handles and smooth edges of the storage almirah can reduce the risk of injury while enabling a smooth surface for easy maintenance.
Other features include reinforced doors in steel to deter potential break-ins, an integrated alarm system in case of breach, and the ability to withstand extreme temperatures.
Types of Lockers
Lockers are often available in nests or a blend of three blocks, joined together to form a bank of lockers depending on the space requirement in a hospital setting.
- Single-door lockers: These lockers offer an entire cupboard with ample space to secure staff's belongings. These single-tier locker units with internal compartments are ideal for organising belongings vertically.
- Lockers with two doors: These two-tier lockers are half-height and ideal for storing less bulky items/areas with less space availability.
- Lockers with L-shaped doors: The L-shaped storage cupboards in the healthcare locker room enable medical professionals to hang their clothes and store other essentials.
Storage Amenities at Nilkamal Edge
Lockrbox Personal Locker Storage
Whether you want to pick a side table with storage for securing patient belongings or grab cabinets for storage for clinical staff and medical professionals, this vaulter storage unit is a fully modular option. Some noteworthy features of this storage furniture include 1, 2, 3, or 6 locker combinations, easy assembly, and 100% virgin PP material. This lightweight and corrosion-resistant small storage cabinet has a Pad lock, cam lock, and num lock security mechanisms, ideal for a healthcare setting. Moreover, you can move this vault unit easily due to its lightweight nature.
Squadro Personal Locer Unit PLU
These are secure and durable cabinets for storage made from CRCA steel sheets for superior strength. These personal locker units have knock down construction for easy assembly and transportation within the hospital. This sleek and modern storage furniture design has a duplicate key for added security, letting nurses and other healthcare staff work peacefully without productivity drains. Healthcare institutions can use them for 1/2/4/6 Door Configuration requirements to store the clinical staff's everyday essentials.
Vault Personal Locker Unit Storage
This personal locker is a go-to option if you are looking for the strongest and most secure vaulter/rafel storage type of furniture. Especially in large hospitals, the durable steel construction and metal build make them resistant to theft and vandalism. The best part is this unit storage solution has ventilating holes to keep the items fresh and dry and promote air circulation. The powder-coated finish gives a non-toxic and zero-emission touch while being environmentally friendly. Since it can accommodate a variety of configurations, these cabinets have a name configuration plate for easy identification. If you have space constraints or plan to expand your locker room area, you can use them as a main locker while combining them with add-on units in the future. The possible storage combinations of this secure storage cupboard are 1,2,4,6, which can complement nurses/doctors/other staff's specific needs.
Wrapping Up
The rotating shifts of medical workers, nurses, doctors and other staff can create exhaustion, tiredness, productivity decline and absenteeism. Locker rooms with proper storage solutions are quintessential to minimize emotional disturbance or anxiety-related disorders. Also, the increase in theft can bring down trust in healthcare or create disputes among co-workers. Only a well-equipped, comfortable and private space within the workplace within the hospital to relax and a locker room storage to safeguard their belongings can give professionals a morale booster. A dedicated place to store personal belongings, the ease of access, or the possibility to keep changing dresses within a secured vault can enable nurses/clinical staff to own their items whenever necessary without any hassle of missing them. The convenient space with locker systems can allow employees to take a break, store valuables, use the restroom, change uniforms, clean up, and recharge after tiring shifts. If your healthcare institution does not have a locker room yet, it is time to buy storage cabinets that complement staff needs, provide hassle-free and secure storage, improve morale and boost productivity levels. Nilkamal Edge is a one-stop destination for all hospital storage needs with highly durable and pocket-friendly locker units.