Role of Communication in Health and Safety

• DIANE PARSONS

SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK

DIANE PARSONS 1/05/15

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Explore the role of communications & training in the promotion & provision of health & safety in the workplace. Page 2

2. Outline the principles & procedures of good house-keeping in the workplace. Page 3

3. Noise, dust and fumes are hazards which are commonly found in workplaces. For one of these hazards outline the risk associated with exposure to this hazard and control measures which might be used in the workplace. Identify at least 3 hazards which are commonly encountered in your workplace and briefly describe how these are controlled. Page 4&5

4. Explain the typical contents of a first-aid kit & their appropriate uses.

Page 6

5. Explain the risks associated with the following hazards work environment, work practices, medication, alcohol, drugs and outline for each, steps which an employer might take to control these risks (please provide at least 2 controls per hazard).

Page 7&8

6. Outline risk factors in relation to health, to include stress/ lifestyle/ diet/ illness.

Page 9&10

ReferencesPage 11

1. EXPLORE THE ROLE OF COMMUNICATIONS & TRAINING IN THE PROMOTION & PROVISION OF HEALTH & SAFETY IN THE WORKPLACE.

The role of communications and training in the work place is important in any job. In Healthcare there is no exception to this. Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 (SHWWA 2005) all employers must specify the training essential to ensuring the health and safety of their employees. The training provided will help staff achieve the essential skills, knowledge and attitudes needed to ensure that they are competent in the health and safety features of their work. In healthcare the Conformity European (CE) mark is important and a lot of employers train their staff to look out for this. Communication in the workplace is essential as is training and the Health Service Executive (HSE), Health Service Authority (HSA) and Health Information Quality Authority (HIQA) are there to ensure that the SHWWA 2005 and the General Application Regulations 2007 (GAR 2007) are in place in the workplace. It is important from management to staff that communication is enforced in the workplace for health & safety. For instance if there was a spillage in a nursing home in the corridor and there was a sign put in place to warn others of this the management could rest in ease knowing that their staff are aware and capable of ensuring health & safety practices in the workplace. That is just one way of communicating there are many more ways I have listed a few below.

(Course Notes 2015)

• Verbal – speaking, face to face
• Listening
• Non Verbal – texting, email, notice board, fax, registered mail, skype
• Demo/Training
• Focus group
• Conference call
• Emergency procedures

www.google.com /images

2. OUTLINE THE PRINCIPLES & PROCEDURES OF GOOD HOUSE-KEEPING IN THE WORKPLACE.

The importance of good house-keeping is so important Healthcare and in particular Nursing Homes and Hospitals which are all about health and the well-being of patients. If a workplace practises bad house-keeping it can become unsafe and even hazardous for the staff and patients. Cluttered and untidy areas, spills and leaks and broken and damaged equipment are all signs of poor house- keeping.

An example of bad house-keeping could be a fire exit left blocked and a fire breaking out in the work place, this bad house-keeping endangers everybody in the work place and it is up to the employers and employees to avoid incidents like this.

Work places need to outline the principles & procedures of good house-keeping to all employers and employees. The workplace needs to be actively monitoring the process of house-keeping within the workplace. HIQA and HSA have certain standards on house-keeping and have an inspection system in place.

Some benefits of good house-keeping are:

• Good housekeeping prevents accidents such as slips, trips and falls
• Make the workplace happy, enjoyable and safe
• Improve and maintain your company’s image (good housekeeping echoes a well-run company) order and routine will impress visitors, employees and clients etc.
• Reduce the risk of accidents or harmful materials i.e. dust, vapours
• Help your company make the most and benefit the best out of its work space.

In house-keeping there are 5S, this is a method of work organised in 5 stages with the goal of considerably improving the order and cleanliness in the workplace. This is known as the Heidelberg Model.

These 5S are:

• SORT- removing anything unnecessary and disposing of it properly
• STRAIGHT- set things in order, easy to find
• SHINE- keep work place clean and safe
• STANDARD- maintain high standards in house-keeping and maintain orderliness
• SUSTAIN- to keep in working order, to perform regular audits

(www.hsa.ie)

3. NOISE, DUST AND FUMES ARE HAZARDS WHICH ARE COMMONLY FOUND IN WORKPLACES. FOR ONE OF THESE HAZARDS OUTLINE THE RISK ASSOCIATED WITH EXPOSURE TO THIS HAZARD AND CONTROL MEASURES WHICH MIGHT BE USED IN THE WORKPLACE. IDENTIFY AT LEAST 3 HAZARDS WHICH ARE COMMONLY ENCOUNTERED IN YOUR WORKPLACE AND BRIEFLY DESCRIBE HOW THESE ARE CONTROLLED.

A hazard is anything that has the potential to cause you or others harm. In the workplace there are many hazards. There are 5 categories of hazards

Physical, Mechanical, Biological, Chemical and physosocial.

(Course Notes 2015)

Fumes would be a major hazard, the risks associated with this are life threatening. They would be physical and chemical hazards. The risks of fumes can come from gas leaks, chemical fumes etc. Some of the risks associated with fumes are they can cause serious illness, death, over exposure can lead to long term health problems, gas leaks can cause explosions. The control measures for this hazard would be storing chemicals away in proper storage areas, a carbon dioxide alarm and when handling dangerous substances always wear your Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Making sure all chemicals are Classification, labelling and packaging (CLP) and a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is available and up to date.

(www.google.com/image)

In healthcare hazards are all too common but they must be identified and control measures must be put in place. Employers need to refer to the hierarchy of control measures which are: Remove, Replace, Reduce, Restriction, training and PPE to ensure safety.

3 HAZARDS COMMON IN THE WORKPLACE

4. EXPLAIN THE TYPICAL CONTENTS OF A FIRST-AID KIT & THEIR APPROPRIATE USES.

First aid is the first or immediate help given to a patient before the arrival of a paramedic or doctor. The first aid kit is there to offer an appropriate point of care, everything in the first-aid kit is put together based on the knowledge and experience on those putting it together. Included in it is PPE which is one of the employer’s duties in the workplace to have to maintain health and safety at work.

(www.hsa.ie)

5. EXPLAIN THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS WORK ENVIRONMENT, WORK PRACTICES, MEDICATION, ALCOHOL, DRUGS AND OUTLINE FOR EACH, STEPS WHICH THE EMPLOYER MIGHT TAKE TO CONTROL THESE RISKS

In the workplace there are many risks, some include hazards work environment, work practices, medication, alcohol and drugs. Under the SHWWA 2005 one of the employer’s duties to employees is to provide a safe place to work so therefore the employer may have steps in place to control these risks. Every year it costs the state 3.6billion in accidents, 70% of accidents can be prevented by good health & safety morals.

(Course Notes 2015)

There would usually be a risk assessment carried out which would:

1. Identify the hazard b) assess the risk c) put controlled measures in place

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6. OUTLINE RISK FACTORS IN RELATION TO HEALTH, TO INCLUDE STRESS/LIFESTYLE/DIET/ILLNESS

The risk factors in relation to health in the workplace are huge because stress, lifestyle, diet and illness all fall under health. In healthcare it is important that the staff promote good health and wellbeing, they do this through putting into practice of workplace policies and health promotion activities. For employers the risk factors can lead to loss of business and damage the company name, performance impairment, absenteeism and the loss of competitive edge.

STRESS is a major risk to the health of an employee. Stress can be caused by many different reasons and have many different effects. Some effects of stress:

• Can be physical or mental
• Interfere with your ability to perform
• Increase cholesterol & blood pressure
• Cause depression, break downs etc.

All these can have a bad effect on the employees work and performance.

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LIFESTYLE can have risk factors in relation to an employee’s health. A hectic or busy lifestyle can take its toll on someone’s health. If a person had a busy social lifestyle and were out parting every night it would eventually have an effect on their work due to tiredness or maybe coming into work with alcohol still in their system, the same would go for drugs. Drugs can be part of someone’s lifestyle too and have a devastating impact on it.

ILLNESS can also have a lot of risk factors in relation to health. In the workplace it can lead to cross contamination staff and patients. It can lead to poor work performance, judgement and unpredictable moods. Lack of good time keeping and an increase of absenteeism.

DIET can play a major role in the growth, repair and maintenance of a body. A well balanced diet and exercise are essential to good health. A bad diet, lack of water and no exercise can result in tiredness, stress, illnesses and depression which in return can influence someone’s ability to work.

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REFERENCES

(Course Notes 2015)page 2

(www.google.com/image)page 2

(www.hsa.ie) page 3

(Course Notes 2015)page 4

(www.google.com/image)page 4

(www.hsa.ie)page 6

(Course Notes 2015)page 7

(www.google.com/image)page 8

(www.google.com/image)page 9

(www.google.com/image) page 10

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