Inequalities among staff harmed by patient safety incidents should also be tackled

Attention has been drawn to viewing health inequalities through the lens of patient safety.1 This reframing should also be applied to the health inequalities of staff involved in patient safety incidents.Occupational fatigue related incidents are a key health risk in shift work. Risk is much higher among night shift workers and in those with sleep problems.2 Staff who work schedules that conflict with the body clock are more susceptible to poor health outcomes, as both shift work and inadequate sleep are risk factors for obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart problems, cancer, depression, dementia, and possibly alteration to gut microbiota. Given that the health and safety consequences of shift work and insufficient sleep are very similar, experts consider them likely to share common mechanisms.3Shift work is also linked to lower socioeconomic class4 and racial inequality,5 with minority groups being disproportionately affected. The Health Survey of England 2013 confirmed that the prevalence…
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