Orderly

Not to be confused with .

For other uses, see Orderly (disambiguation).

See also:

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message )

Orderlies are often utilized in various hospital departments. Orderly duties can range in scope depending on the area of the health care facility they are employed. For that reason, duties can range from assisting in the physical restraint of combative patients, assisting physicians with the application of casts, transporting patients, shaving patients and providing other similar routine personal care to setting up specialised hospital equipment such as bed traction arrays.

Orderlies are typically found in emergency departments, operating rooms, psychiatry, long-term care, and orthopaedics.

Orderlies are described as non licensed hospital assistants that are instructed to perform delegated functions under the direct supervision of a licensed practitioner in the health care setting.

In the US, orderlies have been phased out of health care facilities in recent years and their functions are now replaced by the

.

Orderlies in UK hospitals were known as "attendants" (primarily in lunatic asylums), but that role has been phased out. The nearest role left to a male hospital assistant is that of porter, but that is more a logistical role, moving patients and equipment around the hospital. This is not to be confused with healthcare assistants (HCAs) who are essentially carers for patients (not qualified or licensed health care professionals), and may be of both sexes. Porters, of which two are assigned each shift, attened every emergency medical call within the hospital throughout all NHS trusts. The porter is assigned to the MET to provide extra assistance such as transporting emergency equipment, lab work etc.

A common set up among hospitals in Australia is seen at the

and various other tasks. They respond to every MET (medical emergency team) call that originates within the hospital to provide extra oxygen and so that the patient is able to be moved to another area (such as the intensive care unit) as soon as is required. The orderlies are dispatched using pager-radio combos. Some orderlies are stationed at particular departments such as radiology and theatre/recovery but most are in the "pool" and are dispatched throughout the hospital. In The Royal Brisbane and Womans Hospital in Queensland, orderlies are called patient support officers or PSOs. Controversially, PSOs are required to do all cleaning within the hospital, leading to an outcry from staff that the practice is unsafe because PSOs have to not only clean, but also take care of the patient handling, leading to a possible increase in the spread of infection.

See also

• Certified Nursing Assistant
• Activities of daily living assistance

References

External links

• The dictionary definition of orderly at Wiktionary