INTRODUCTION TO OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

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INTRODUCTION TO OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

• What is occupational health and safety?
• It is an area of safety engineering and public
  health that deals with the protection of workers
  health, through control of the work environment
  to reduce or eliminate hazards

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INTRODUCTION TO OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

• Why is it important?
• 1. Result in temporary or permanent injury,
  illness or even death
• 2.they also take a toll in reduced efficiency
  and loss of productivity

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INTRODUCTION TO OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

• How accidents occurred?
• 1. Poor working conditions
• 2. The use of improperly designed equipment and
  tools

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INTRODUCTION TO OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

• 3. Fatique
• 4. Lack of skill
• 5. Risk taking

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INTRODUCTION TO OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

• Occupational Health and Safety looks at
• 1. Ways to elimination or controlling hazards in
  all work locations
• 2. Operating methods and practices

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INTRODUCTION TO OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

• 3. The training of employees and supervisors
• In order to minimize / eliminate workplace
  injuries

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The occupational health safety actnational
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• What is NOHSC?
• The National Occupational Health and Safety
  Commission is a tripartite statutory body, with
  government, employer and employee representatives

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The occupational health safety actnational
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• The roles of NOHSC
• Facilitates states and territories to meet their
  needs in occupational health and safety

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The occupational health safety actnational
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• States OHS legal obligations
• the states and Territories have responsibility
  for making laws about workplace health and safety
  and for enforcing those laws.

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The occupational health safety actnational
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• These laws set out requirements for ensuring that
  workplaces are safe and healthy.
• These requirements spell out the duties of
  different groups of people who play a role in
  workplace health and safety.
• These requirements are called Duty of care

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The occupational health safety actnational
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• Duty of care requires everything reasonable
  practicable to be done to protect the health and
  safety of others at the workplace. This duty is
  placed on
• 1. All employers
• 2. Their employees
• 3. Any others who have an influence on the
  hazards in a workplace

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The occupational health safety actnational
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• Specific rights and duties flow from the duty of
  care
• 1. Provision and maintenance of safe equipment
  and systems of work
• 2. Safe systems of work in connection with
  equipment and substances

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The occupational health safety actnational
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• 3. A safe working environment and adequate
  welfare facilities
• 4. Information and instruction on workplace
  hazards and supervision of employees in safe work
• 5. Monitoring the health of their employees and
  related records keeping

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• 6. Employment of qualified persons to provide
  health and safety advice
• 7. Nomination of a senior employer representative
  and
• 8. Monitoring conditions at any workplace under
  their control and management

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The occupational health safety actnational
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• Victoria WorkCover Authority
• The Victoria WorkCover Authority is the manager
  of Victorias workplace safety system. Their
  vision is to see workplaces free from injury and
  disease.

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The occupational health safety actnational
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• WorkCover administers a number of Acts
• such as
• 1. Accident Compensation (WorkCover Insurance)
  Act 1993
• 2. Dangerous Goods Act 1985
• 3. Equipment (Public Safety) Act 1994 etc.

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The occupational health safety actnational
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• Structure of WorkCover
• Board of Management
• (Chairperson 7 directors - part-time)
• Chief executive of the authority
• V
• Local offices (11 Agents) Advisory Services
• (1800 136 089)
• V
• 250 field officers

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The occupational health safety actnational
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• How can I, as a worker, make my workplace safer?
• 1. take reasonable care for your own health and
  safety when at work
• 2. tell your supervisor about potential hazards
  or personal physical problems in the workplace

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The occupational health safety actnational
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• 3. follow any safety guidelines/systems of work
  as per training and instructions
• 4. take reasonable care not to affect the health
  and safety of others by your acts or omissions
• 5. work with your employer in any action taken
  to make your workplace safer

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The occupational health safety actnational
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• 6. make sure you have a certificate of competency
  if you operate or drive industrial equipment
  that requires certification
• 7. report any injury immediately to a
  supervisor/person responsible for WorkCover

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The occupational health safety actnational
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• 8. You must not willfully or recklessly
  interfere with or misuse safety equipment that
  is provided and must not willfully put at risk
  the health and safety of others.

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The occupational health safety actnational
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• Reporting workplace injuries
• If you are injured, you must notify your employer
  of any injury or illness which has been
  significantly contributed to by work within 30
  days of you becoming aware of it.
• If you don't, you may not be entitled to make a
  compensation claim.

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The occupational health safety actnational
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• What are my obligations as an employer?
• 1. providing and maintaining safe plant (such as
  machinery and equipment) and safe systems of
  work (such as controlling entry to high risk
  areas, controlling work pace and frequency and
  providing systems to prevent falls from heights)

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The occupational health safety actnational
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• 2. implementing arrangements for the safe use,
  handling, storage and transport of plant and
  substances (such as dangerous goods and harmful
  chemicals or materials)
• 3. maintaining the safe condition of the
  workplace (such as ensuring fire exits are not
  blocked, emergency equipment is servicable, and
  general housekeeping)

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The occupational health safety actnational
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• 4. providing workers and contractors with
  adequate facilities (such as clean toilets, cool
  and clean drinking water, and hygienic eating
  areas)
• 5. making sure workers have adequate information,
  instruction, training and supervision to work in
  a safe and healthy manner.

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The occupational health safety actnational
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• Victorian Workcover Authority Web-site
• www.workcover.vic.au/dir090/vwa/home.nsf

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Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) now
available online.

• The Occupational Health and Safety Unit are
  pleased to announce that all
• Victoria University staff and students now have
  access to an online database
• containing over 300,000 Material Safety Data
  Sheets via the Victoria University
• Intranet site.
• To gain access to this database users should
  visit the Occupational Health and
• Safety Unit's Intranet site and click on the MSDS
  Database icon
• (http//www.msdsonline.com.au/vicuniversity/),
  users can access any of the 300,000 MSDS that
  available. Users can print out any MSDS for the
  product that they are researching for future
  reference or for use in the workplace. If any
  problems are encountered whilst trying to access
  the MSDS Database please contact the Occupational
  Health and Safety Unit on 9688 5250.
• Occupational Health and Safety Unit,
• Victoria University.

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Health Care Housekeeping in the Nursing
Environment

• Nursing care is directed toward
• 1. health maintenance
• 2. illness prevention - including promotion of
  clients safety in the community or health care
  environment e.g. hospitals

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Health Care Housekeeping in the Nursing
Environment

• Nursing, therefore, should include
• 1. Identification of potential hazardous
  environment and situation
• 2. Elimination or control potential hazardous
  environment and situation

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Health Care Housekeeping in the Nursing
Environment

• Assessment
• 1. What is the potential hazard?
• 2. How is it likely to happen?

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Health Care Housekeeping in the Nursing
Environment

• 3. What would be possible results
• injury - physical
• mental
• material
• monetary

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Health Care Housekeeping in the Nursing
Environment

• Factors affecting self protection
• Any alteration to the normal functions of senses
  will reduce an individuals ability to protect
  themselves from danger

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Health Care Housekeeping in the Nursing
Environment

• 1. Age
• 2. Impaired senses
• 3. Impaired physical functions
• 4. Impaired judgement

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Provision of a safe environment

• I. Patient identification
• an individual should be correctly identified,
  prior to commencement of any treatment
• e.g. wrist band with full name
• unit number
• date of birth

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Provision of a safe environment

• II. Prevention of falls
• 1. Elimination of wet floor or loosen mats
• 2. Hand rails in corridors, stairways and
  bathrooms
• 3. Use of non-slip mats in showers

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Provision of a safe environment

• 4. Use of proper equipment when transferring
  patients
• 5. Adjust height of bed to meet patients needs
• 6. Provide proper walking aids e.g. non-slip
  tipped walking frames

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Provision of a safe environment

• 7. Adequate lighting
• 8. Remove any obstacles in patients path e.g.
  electrical cords, chairs, urinals, bags etc.

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Provision of a safe environment

• III. Prevention of sharps and splash injuries
• 1. Minimize of exposure of needles and sharps
  e.g. use kidney dishes
• 2. Disposal of sharps in proper containers e.g.
  biohazard disposal bins (Yellow)

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Provision of a safe environment

• 3. Wear protective devices e.g. goggles /or
  gloves when disposing patients body fluid.
• 4. Avoid using pins, metal clips or safety-pins
  on patients

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Provision of a safe environment

• IV. Prevention of thermal injuries
• 1. Check temperature before providing hot
  substances (e.g. hot water) for patients to
• handle,
• drink,
• apply to local areas

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Provision of a safe environment

• 2. Ensure all heaters have safety guards -
  Minimize use of heaters in wards
• 3. Assist patient when he or she has deficits in
  handling hot or cold appliances

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Provision of a safe environment

• V. prevention of fire
• 1. Locate fire extinguishes
• 2. Locate fire exits
• 3. Methods to raise alarm

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Provision of a safe environment

• 4. Ways to evacuate patients
• 5. Participate in fire drills
• 6. Ensure all electrical appliances are checked
  regularly

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Provision of a safe environment

• VI. Prevention of chemical injury
• 1. Follow instructions and regulations in
  handling, storing and safe keeping of chemicals
• 2. Separate internal and external use chemicals

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Provision of a safe environment

• 3. Safe kept poisonous substances e.g. locked
  cupboards
• 4. Proper labeling of containers

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Provision of a safe environment

• Dont forget to wash your hands