Look beyond the spill
Slip, trip, and fall prevention in healthcare includes wet floors, clutter, trailing cords, uneven surfaces, inadequate lighting, damaged mats, and outdoor ice or snow. NIOSH identifies these as workplace hazards that deserve systematic attention.
For nurses, the problem often appears during another task: moving equipment, responding to a patient, or carrying supplies. A useful response addresses the environmental condition as well as the immediate need to pass through the area.
This article concerns workers' walking and working surfaces. A patient's individualized fall-prevention plan is a separate clinical process.
Understand the employer's duty
The federal general-industry rule at 29 CFR 1910.22 requires clean, orderly, sanitary walking-working surfaces. Workroom floors must be kept clean and, to the extent feasible, dry. Where wet processes are used, the standard addresses drainage and, where feasible, dry standing places.
The rule also requires safe access and egress, regular inspection and inspection as necessary, and correction of hazardous conditions before workers use a surface again. If immediate correction is not possible, the employer must guard the hazard to prevent use until correction occurs.
This is a federal baseline for covered work. A local safety program should identify any additional requirements that apply to its setting.
Make the first report useful
A helpful report identifies the exact location, the condition, and the exposure: for example, “A recurring leak leaves water across the only route from the medication room to the hall.” Note whether the problem is new, intermittent, or recurring and use the workplace's urgent hazard-reporting process.
A warning sign may communicate a hazard, but it does not repair a leaking fixture or establish that an area is safely guarded. Ask who will control access, arrange cleanup or repair, and confirm that the route is safe to reopen.
Do not improvise a cleanup method for an unknown chemical or contaminated spill. The appropriate spill procedure depends on the material and the staff's training.
Prevent the recurring problem
A local review can examine why the hazard returns. Examples include storage that pushes supplies into a corridor, a cord route that crosses normal foot traffic, or a cleaning process that leaves a busy passage wet.
Discuss possible changes with the relevant facilities, environmental-services, and clinical staff. Moving an obstacle into another route simply transfers the problem. A solution needs to preserve access for patients, workers, and equipment.
NIOSH includes slip-resistant footwear among prevention measures, but footwear is only one part of the workplace response.
Document the resolution
For repeated hazards, record the assigned action and verify that it changed the condition. Near-miss reports can help identify trouble before an injury occurs, although reporting counts alone do not measure risk.
If an injury occurs, use the employer's injury-reporting and evaluation process. See occupational injury records and OSHA reporting for the distinction between reporting an incident internally and an employer's regulatory duties.
Sources
- eCFR: 29 CFR 1910.22, General Requirements (accessed 2026-09-17) — Text current through September 15, 2026.
- NIOSH: Enviromechanical Hazards (accessed 2026-09-17).