Manage Work Health And Safety

Introduction

This presentation forms the basis of the induction program, and we are going to cover with my two colleagues herein the various topics of work safety and health. During this presentation it is important to note that the following topical issues will be addressed; roles and responsibilities of workers in an organization, work safety and health standards  and codes of conduct, case study emergency presentations, circumstances in case study emergencies, access of emergency staff policies and procedures, application of emergencies guidelines, reporting and documentation of emergencies, record keeping of emergencies, obligation of organizations during emergencies and organization follow up of emergencies in an organization.

Roles and responsibilities of workers in an organization

As support workers in the disability home, staffs are responsible for supporting residents in the facility based on their own needs based on the environment they live in. Activities of support revolve around daily living skills, care, travelling escorts within and outside environment, teaching of the life skills which aid on their mobility and effort, participating in leisure activities and work placements.

Trends of organization have shown that work organization may affect workers health , (Sawacha, Naoum & Fong, 1999).The organization is task at providing user friendly environment to facilitate the help for the disable and needy clients. The organization needs to facilitate the use of equipments such as lifts or swivel cushions to assist the clients, effective communication technology for easier service delivery and provision of vehicle modification tools such as wheelchairs to aid in mobility movement.

WHS legislation, regulations, standards and codes of conduct

Workers are guided by the Workers Health and safety standards in an aim of securing their health and safety of the workers, (Robson et al., 2007). It does so by protecting the workers from harm to their safety and health, provide fair and effective workplace representation, encourage provision of advice, information and education to the workers, providing frameworks for continuous improvement and maintaining harmonious relationships of work and safety guidelines.

As health care workers, there is need for understanding the sets standards which are expected from health care support workers and adult social workers in this organization, (Törner & Pousette, 2009). The guidelines outline the behaviour and attitudes that are accepted from workers who sign up for the code. The codes have acted as a voluntary however it serves as sign of best practice in the organization.

Emergency presentation from the case study and their circumstantial events

The first emergency situation presentation in the case revolves around 3 cases of emergency, and the first one involves resident who happens to be a disable patient who runs on the wheel chair and has fallen. The resident rushes to the worker staff seeking help for assistance on the disable resident.

The second emergency incidence revolves around a resident who has just incurred a spider bite. The role of the worker at this critical point is that they are supposed to calm the residents and calm the victim, as they prepare to roll out first aid, however as the worker tries to manage the resident, he gets out of hands and runs towards the gate and manages to open the closely tight gate and tries to escape.

As things roll out the third emergency incidence occurs whereby, as the resident tries to get out of the gate, there is emergence of men in black entering the facility with guns pointing towards the residents. Everyone gets chilled and everyone surrenders. However as it turned later, we found out that they were federal police who thought that there was something suspicious happening.

Access of emergency policies and procedures

Emergency policies and guidelines are brief and simple guidelines which guide the employees in case of emergency events, (Parmeggiani  et al., 2010). As workers there are need to know duties and responsibilities for actions to be taken in case of an emergency. There is need for keeping the first aid kit, attendance record and emergency information card for recoding and always keep within reach of easy access.

As a staff there is need to endure that you understand the emergency evacuation plan and procedures in case of an emergency situation. Clear communication protocol should be always established and easily available for the staff to access in case there is an emergency. As a staff, in the organization availability of these manuals serves the best effort to guide.

Emergency procedures to employ in the case studies

The emergency procedure to be used for this resident is that there is need to transfer the victim on the chair as soon as possible with delicate handling. This depends on the upper body strength, as a worker there is need to assist the wheel chair user by trying to avoid putting much pressure on the extremities of the victim like the chest; this can cause spasms and pain and hinder breathing.

The second incident is of spider bite, actions to initiate is to calm the patient as soon as possible, clean the wound with mild soap and water and apply an antibiotic available in the first aid kit in the organization emergency section and further a damp cloth can be applied on the cloth filled with ice so as to reduce the pain. After pain relief administer over the counter drugs to relive the pain.

Emergency procedure for incident three is to ensure that there is calm and take precaution as soon as possible. As the armed men enters, advices everyone to stay calm and not to run away as they can endanger their lives. Be calm and confront the men gently and inform them of the organization so as not to cause harm, while other workers can call for emergency help if not at the vicinity of the incident.

Reporting and documentation of emergencies

Hazards in the workplace can be reported in a variety of ways. Information gathering process to generate a situation is crucial during emergencies, (Oral et al., 2003). As a health worker in the organization, hazard and emergencies like those presented in the case study, can be handled through verbal reporting, completion of hazard report forms and raising the issue during staff meetings of the organization. Acute emergencies should be reported immediately, while those that are less acute can done through completion of hazard reporting for. Also the organization has specific procedure of how to report emergency situations and is available in the emergency reporting manual. In this case during the incident report three, the director needs to be informed as this has tremendous effects and impacts on the employees as they may think they are targeted.

Obligations of organizations in emergency situation

The organization has the sole responsibility of providing work environment free from hazards and to ensure that staff health and safety is assured for the staff, (Daynes, 2006). In emergency situations, employers have the responsibility of ensuring that relevant workplace health and safety are adhered to. There is need to follow effective ways of managing exposure risks and emergency cases as reported in the case studies.

After emergency situations the organization has to undertake supporting risks and control procedures. The staffs have key responsibility in health and safety by being actively engaged in the hazard identification and assessing the risks. Thus it is important to take through the staff on the strategies such as think, talk, act or review process of emergencies. They think of hazards, taking with those who have knowledge of the incident, act in a manner that reports hazard levels and reviewing controls put in place to reduce the risks.

Conclusion

From the above description the case study illustration has underpinned relevant concepts with regard to handling of emergencies and the roles of and responsibilities of employees of work place in organizations. Mindful adherence of policy procedures with regard to workers health and safety is crucial in ensuring that right procedures are followed while maintaining clear emergency procedures.

References

Dynes, R. (2006). Social capital: Dealing with community emergencies. Homeland Security Affairs, 2(2).

Oral, R., Blum, K. L., & Johnson, C. (2003). Fractures in young children: are physicians in the emergency department and orthopedic clinics adequately screening for possible abuse?. Pediatric emergency care, 19(3), 148-153.

Parmeggiani, C., Abbate, R., Marinelli, P., & Angelillo, I. F. (2010). Healthcare workers and health care-associated infections: knowledge, attitudes, and behavior in emergency departments in Italy. BMC infectious diseases, 10(1), 35.

Robson, L. S., Clarke, J. A., Cullen, K., Bielecky, A., Severin, C., Bigelow, P. L., ... & Mahood, Q. (2007). The effectiveness of occupational health and safety management system interventions: a systematic review. Safety Science, 45(3), 329-353.

Sawacha, E., Naoum, S., & Fong, D. (1999). Factors affecting safety performance on construction sites. International journal of project management, 17(5), 309-315.

Törner, M., & Pousette, A. (2009). Safety in construction–a comprehensive description of the characteristics of high safety standards in construction work, from the combined perspective of supervisors and experienced workers. Journal of Safety Research, 40(6), 399-409.