This comprehensive assessment delves into the core of workplace health and safety, exploring the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and its application in safeguarding the well-being of employees, volunteers, contractors, and others. The primary objective of the New South Wales (NSW) government is to create a safe working environment, minimizing risks and ensuring compliance with codes of conduct. Hazards in nursing environments are identified, including heavy weight lifting, odd working hours, faulty electrical wiring, and potential falls, each demanding tailored risk management.
The concept of continuous improvement in health and safety underscores the importance of constant evaluation, information updates, and communication. Personal Protective Equipment, Standard Operating Procedures, Designated Persons, and the Hierarchy of Control are elucidated as essential tools for mitigating risks. Workplace harassment emerges as a prominent risk, encompassing physical and emotional dimensions, and strategies for control and prevention are discussed.
In fostering a healthy and safe environment, individual responsibility is paramount. The adherence to workplace policies and procedures, coupled with awareness and ethical conduct, forms the foundation for sustaining a secure workplace. Continuous evaluation and improvement ensure that risk management initiatives remain effective, promoting a culture of safety.
1. In broad terms, the main aim of Work Health and Safety Act 2011 is to protect
the safety, health and welfare of all the employees at work through a well
developed framework. Additionally, it also protects other people who might get
affected at work. And it also provides safety to general public as well so that
they are not at risk due to any work activities. The Work Health and Safety Act
2011 ensures that employees, volunteers, contractors, sub- contractors, work
experience students, employers who work, outworkers, trainees and
apprentices are all protected through this act. The responsibility of main
health and safety is placed on someone who undertakes or conducts some
business, known as PCBU. The PCBU ensures that all concerns for healthy
and safety is done properly and that all people related to such activities get a
safe environment (Government of Queensland, 2016).
2. The primary objective of NSW is to ensure that every individual is safe at work
and does not meet incidences or accidents at work place. The NSW ensures
that risks are minimized or prevented at work place so that every employee
who is related to the work can work in a healthy and safety environment. In
this manner, it is important for the people to adhere to the codes of conduct as
prescribes by various acts of NSW and do what the regulation asks them to.
Employees and general public are all included in this objective so that a safe
working environment can be created by all. Furthermore, it is also advised
that if a workplace is not covered by and code of practice or regulation, then
people must develop a relevant way to manage their risk exposure. Moreover,
in such cases it is also very important to act in a manner wherein risks are
minimised and prevented through important measures (Government of
Queensland, 2016).
3. The four hazards I come across in a nursing environment are as follows:
i. Heavy weight lifting due to lack of appropriate machinery: As a nurse,
there are several devices that one has to carry and it is very difficult to
lift heavy weight. As a result, they pose a threat on nurse’s health that
can lead to backache, shoulder pain, joint pain, neck ache, etc. in such
cases, it is important to include machinery that is light in weight and
can be managed properly. The medical centres should have latest
devices so that the health of medical practitioners is not at risk
(Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, 2012).
ii. Another very crucial hazard is odd working hours without any guard as
it can pose a threat on the safety of nurses. There are several cases
wherein nurses have gone through bad experiences such as
harassment at work because of night shifts and less control or careless
management at work. Thus, it is advised to install cameras everywhere
in a medical centre and have strict work, health and safety policies that
ensures on spot resignation for people who do not abide by the rules
(Tschudin, V., 2010).
iii. In many cases the electric wires in a medical centre are not placed
properly that leads to shocks and electric currents for all people. So,
the medical centre should ensure that there electrical work is up to date
and they do not pose any threat for anyone including both employees
and patients (Government of Queensland, 2016).
iv. In a nursing environment, many nurses experience falls because of
lack in safety. This can be due to wet floors, slippery flooring, poor
staircase, low level of railings. Thus, the medical centres should ensure
that nurses do not fall or slip as they are always on the move. It is
important to manage such instances and minimise situations like these
(Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, 2012).
4. The whole concept of work health and safety lies on the fact that employees
and people related to a work are provided with safe and healthy
environments. It is important to ensure that people are out of danger zone and
risks at work are minimized or prevented to promote a healthy work
environment for all. In relation to this, continuous improvement is a very
important concept since it forms a process of constant evaluation, update of
latest information and communication at work place. Once the management of
a workplace identifies hazards and take initiatives to control them, it is
important to review them constantly to ensure that their initiatives are still up
to date and there is no lack of safety and security at work place. It is also
important to promote a cultural safe environment by not only reviewing
initiatives but also training the employees so that each one understands their
responsibilities. Therefore, a continuous improvement of health and safety at
work place ensures that everything is working properly and possible risks are
managed well at all times in a working environment (NSW, 2016).
5. Personal Protective Equipment: It is referred to the equipments that are used
by people to protect themselves during times of risks. They are basically used
to minimize risks for people’s own health and safety. However, it is important
to note that personal protective equipment are the least effective way to
control risks and they are usually the last resort. They include ear plugs, face
masks, safety harnesses, boots, hard hats and high visibility clothing, etc
(Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, 2012).
Standard Operating Procedures: Standard Operating Procedures in nursing is
basically a document that has all standardized methods to be used during a
process to ensure that right protocols are performed each time by everyone.
As nursing is a very sensitive profession, it is very important to use such
protocols because what may be right for someone might be wrong for the
other and one may not be able to figure out the right practice during the times
of risks. Thus, it is important to maintain consistency to minimise risks with the
help of standard operating procedures (Tschudin, V., 2010).
Designated Persons: A designated person refers to the senior member of any
organization, In the case of nursing it can be a senior nurse, a doctor or the
dean of an institution. Designated person is usually well experienced and has
better knowledge and skills to perform different activities. They are usually
given the authority to conduct research and investigate different scenarios in a
nursing environment. For instance, a designated person might be given the
responsibility to search for any faults or risk zones in a medical centre (NSW,
2016).
Hierarchy of Control: Hierarchy of control is a framework to deal with
occupational hazards that include health nurses, physicians, safety engineers
and industrial hygienists. The main task of hierarchy of control is to identify
hazards and risks in a working environment and develop intervention
strategies to manage them. The main premise of this is to remove any hazard
instead of relying on workers to prevent risks (De Castro, A.B., 2003).
6. Workplace harassment is one of the leading risks of workplace health and
safety and many employees today have been a victim of workplace
harassment and this is true especially in the case of nursing. By definition,
workplace harassment can be identified as a threatening behaviour towards
an individual or a group for instance, sexual harassment or bullying are
considered as workplace harassment. There are two types of harassment
behaviours that includes, physical harassment and emotional harassment.
Sexual assault is a form of physical harassment and bullying is a form of
emotional assault (De Castro, A.B., 2003).
Workplace harassment can be controlled through strict management policies
and proper rules for people who indulge in harassment. Moreover, it is
important to complain such situations and ensure that the management knows
about harassment. With unified set of rules, a workplace can take successful
actions against workplace harassment (Tschudin, V., 2010).
7. A healthy and safe environment can only be carried out in a workplace when
all people including the management and employees are careful of their
actions and aware of the environment. Thus, the workers should first take
care of themselves and ensure that they are safe while also providing safe
environment for others as well. It is important for workers to ensure that they
take appropriate steps and responsibilities to abide by the code of ethics at
their workplace. In this manner, they ensure that every rule and law is abided
properly and a healthy and safe working environment is provided to all. it is
important to note that a workplace cannot have a proper safe and healthy
environment unless its workers follow the policies and procedures of the
workplace (Government of Queensland, 2016).