Occupational Health and Safety in Healthcare: A Guide to Risk Assessment and Prevention, Study notes of Laboratory Practices and Management

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OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY RISKS

IN THE HEALTHCARE SECTOR

Prof. Dr. Mustafa KOCAKULAK

Izmir Democracy University

Faculty of Engineering

Department of Biomedical Engineering

INTRODUCTION

 (^) About 10 % of workers in the European Union belong to the health and welfare sector, and many of them work in hospitals. These workers may be exposed to a very wide variety of risks.  (^) EU legislation on health and safety at work currently covers most of these risks nevertheless, the combination of such diverse risks arising at the same time and the fact that this is clearly a high-risk sector have given rise to a debate on the need for a specific approach in order to improve the protection of the health and safety of hospital personnel at Union level.  (^) All the considerations and any measures designed to improve the health and safety of hospital personnel can be extended to workers in the health sector in general.

1. PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION AS A MANAGEMENT TASK

 (^) Workplace-related health impairments, injuries and illnesses cause great human suffering and incur high costs, both for those affected and for society as a whole.  (^) Occupational health and safety measures and health promotion in workplaces are aimed at preventing this.  (^) But, in addition to protecting workers from harm, this guide wants to show managers in the healthcare system how to achieve a health-promoting hospital or facility according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) definition of health.  (^) This defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, as well as the empowerment of individuals to use their own health potential and to deal successfully with the demands of their environment.

1. PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION AS A MANAGEMENT TASK

 (^) Workplace-related health impairments, injuries and illnesses cause great human suffering and incur high costs, both for those affected and for society as a whole.  (^) Occupational health and safety measures and health promotion in workplaces are aimed at preventing this.  (^) But, in addition to protecting workers from harm, this guide wants to show managers in the healthcare system how to achieve a health-promoting hospital or facility according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) definition of health.  (^) This defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, as well as the empowerment of individuals to use their own health potential and to deal successfully with the demands of their environment.

1. PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION AS A MANAGEMENT TASK

1.1. Definition Of Occupational Health And Safety

 (^) In 1950, the Joint ILO/WHO Committee on Occupational Health stated that “Occupational health should aim at the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations; the prevention amongst workers of departures from health caused by their working conditions; the protection of workers in their employment from risks resulting from factors adverse to health; the placing and maintenance of the worker in an occupational environment adapted to his physiological and psychological capabilities”.  (^) In summary: “the adaptation of work to man, and of each man to his job.”

1. PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION AS A MANAGEMENT TASK

1.2. Statutory European Union Specifications

 (^) Preventive and protective measures should be implemented in the following order of priority  (^) elimination of the hazard/risk;  (^) control of the hazard/risk at source, through the use of engineering controls or organisational measures;  (^) minimisation of the hazard/risk by the design of safe work systems, which include administrative control measures;  (^) where residual hazards/risks cannot be controlled by collective measures, provision by the employer of appropriate personal protective equipment, including clothing, at no cost, and implementation of measures to ensure its use and maintenance.

1. PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION AS A MANAGEMENT TASK

1.2. Statutory European Union Specifications

1.2.1. A typical management model

 (^) Policy: sets a clear commitment and objectives, responsibilities and procedures for the organisation.  (^) Planning: identifies and assesses the risks arising from work activities and how they can be controlled. Activities in the planning process include:  (^) risk assessment and identification of preventive measures;  (^) identifying the management arrangements and organisation needed to exercise control;  (^) identifying training needs;  (^) ensuring that occupational health and safety knowledge, skills and expertise are available.

1. PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION AS A MANAGEMENT TASK

1.2. Statutory European Union Specifications

1.2.1. A typical management model

 (^) Implementation and operation: involves putting plans into practice. This may mean: making changes to the organisation and working procedures, working environment, equipment and products used; training management and staff, and improving communication.  (^) Checking and corrective action: performance should be monitored. This can be reactive for example, using accident records or proactive, for example, through feedback from inspections and audits and from staff surveys. Accident investigations should identify the immediate and underlying causes, including management failings. The aim is to ensure that systems and procedures are working and to immediately take any corrective action needed.

1. PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION AS A MANAGEMENT TASK

1.3. Components Of Occupational Health And Safety Management Systems

 (^) Constant participation of the workers in determining objectives and measures of occupational health and safety - the employees are the experts for their own workplaces!  (^) Consultation concerning workers’ experience with existing health risks.  (^) Ideas for improving the assignment of duties, the procedural sequences and the concrete working conditions in the activities and at the workplaces.

1. PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION AS A MANAGEMENT TASK

1.3. Components Of Occupational Health And Safety Management Systems

 (^) Every organisation should record the following in writing:  (^) the factors triggering a hazard determination and identification;  (^) how hazards are determined and risks assessed;  (^) how results are evaluated;  (^) how necessary measures are laid down and implemented;  (^) how the effectiveness of the measures taken is checked.

1. PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION AS A MANAGEMENT TASK

1.3. Components Of Occupational Health And Safety Management Systems

 (^) Any assessment of occupational health and safety measures should take into account the following information:  (^) feedback from workers and external occupational health and safety partners;  (^) results of communication with workers;  (^) ways of dealing with changes which may have an impact on the integration of occupational health and safety in quality management;  (^) results of hazard determinations and assessments;  (^) evaluations of accident reports, first aid book entries, suspicion notifications and occupational diseases

2. HOW TO CARRY OUT A RISK ASSESSMENT

2.1. Roles And Responsibilities

 (^) Occupational health and safety is a management task! Under Article 6 of Council Directive 89/391/EEC, employers are obliged to take the measures necessary for the health and safety protection of workers.  (^) The necessary measures of occupational health and safety include the prevention of occupational risks, the provision of information and training and the provision of the necessary organisation and means.  (^) The overall responsibility for determining and assessing risks at the workplace lies with employers.  (^) They must ensure that these activities are properly implemented.  (^) If they do not have the relevant knowledge themselves, they must obtain expert advice internally, through occupational health and safety specialists and occupational physicians, or externally, through the use of external services.

2. HOW TO CARRY OUT A RISK ASSESSMENT

2.1. Roles And Responsibilities

2.1.1. Risk assessment — Employers’ roles and responsibilities

 (^) Under Articles 5 to 12 of Council Directive 89/391/EEC, employers are obliged to:  (^) implement the necessary measures on the basis of the following general principles of prevention, see the text box ‘Framework Directive 89/391/EEC, Article 6, Paragraph 2’, page 26;  (^) ensure that each worker receives adequate health and safety training, in particular in the form of information and instructions specific to their workplace or job (on recruitment, in the event of transfer, if new work equipment or any new technology is used);  (^) take appropriate measures so that employers of workers from any outside establishments engaged in work in their establishment receive adequate information in accordance with national laws and/or practices, and have in fact received appropriate instructions regarding health and safety risks during their activities in their establishment;  (^) document, monitor and review the risk assessment and the measures taken.

2. HOW TO CARRY OUT A RISK ASSESSMENT

2.1. Roles And Responsibilities

2.1.1. Risk assessment — Employers’ roles and responsibilities

Framework Directive 89/391/EEC, Article 6, Paragraph 2  (^) 2. The employer shall implement the measures referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 on the basis of the following general principles of prevention:  (^) avoiding risks  (^) evaluating the risks which cannot be avoided  (^) combating the risks at source  (^) adapting the work to the individual, especially as regards the design of workplaces, the choice of work equipment and the choice of working and production methods, with a view, in particular, to alleviating monotonous work and work at a predetermined work-rate and to reducing their effect on health