Central Safety Group Amsterdam

New research into manual handling injuries in healthcare

We had a great turnout this month as David Caple proved once again what a popular speaker he is. We really appreciate his access to up-to-date research along with the practical advice he offers in dealing with emerging health and safety risks. Not to mention an element of interactivity: not even the constraints of zoom could hinder his exhortation to us to try out some of the postures under discussion!

While David's presentation focussed on hospitals, many of the issues and solutions could apply equally in other settings. One is the role of design in both creating and mitigating risks, a topic that was prominent in the discussion after the formal presentation. Another is the notion of broadening risk assessment to encompass Associated Non-Technical Skills (ANTS), such as situational awareness and communication.

It was interesting to ponder some of the developments that have arisen over the last 18 months. For instance, the restriction on family members being able to visit in hospitals has led to a reduction in occupational violence. Conversely, new deep cleaning protocols can create extra workload and harmful repetitive postures for cleaners.

David's annual "State of the Nation" address is always keenly anticipated and this iteration was no exception. His style and knowledge are always greatly appreciated.

David's presentation complements the one given by David Trembearth in April this year, Musculoskeletal issues – what’s new in risks and prevention, which you can access here (log in first)

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The current job scene for OHS – what’s different now

Date & Time: Tuesday 12 October 2021 at 12:00pm 

PLEASE NOTE: ONLINE ZOOM MEETING:

Speaker: Helen O'Keefe, Founder & Principal Consultant, HOK Talent Solutions.

Topic: The current job scene for OHS – what’s different now

The current job scene for OHS – what’s different now
What’s the current job scene for OHS? The news is that at the moment there are more roles on offer than candidates, according to Helen O’Keefe, who runs a leading national health & safety executive search agency. This will be the subject of her zoom presentation for CSG at midday on Tuesday 12 October.
Helen will discuss the reasons for the current shortage of applicants happening across the board in a range of industries, as well as in different levels and roles in the OHS field.
She will be offering advice to recruiters, current job seekers and people trying to decide whether to move in the current job climate. “When you have a candidate-led market, the traditional recruitment methods may not work,” says Helen. “Candidates also need to consider certain things carefully before accepting a new role.”
Helen will talk about how workplace changes during the pandemic have led to some organisations creating different OHS roles or adding new requirements.
The session will conclude with discussion and questions from the audience..

Note: RSVP by close of business Monday 11 October 2021.  When booking for this Event, please ensure you select the October Meeting from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP to this meeting.

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Managing the healthcare challenge of COVID-19

Alison Hunt-Sturman took us through the full and detailed journey of how her team faced the challenges of COVID-19 during 2020. During the discussion afterwards, Alison suggested that perhaps she should have issued a trigger warning before her presentation, because it certainly brought back many memories for those present!

We could certainly identify with their experience that began with a naive thought that the situation would be short-lived and that their existing systems were able to keep everything under control. However, as the full impact began to unfold, it was clear that Alison's early warnings, which had been considered overdramatic by some at the time, were justified. As Alison outlined the many developments in the pandemic and the accompanying body of knowledge, it was quite starling to realise how much changed just in the short period between March and May.

One of the stand-outs for me was Alison's discussion about the challenge of boosting the workforce. There was not only the obvious need to replace clinical staff on furlough, but they needed to boost staff in other areas as well. One example was in the IT department to handle all the technological changes. Another big issue was in aged care, where the restriction on family members visiting had a huge impact, because these carers make such a big contribution to the daily workload.

While the current experience is looking more and more like a replay of 2020, the positive side is that practices that were developed last year, and are in a continual state of review, are now putting Alison and her team in good stead for dealing with it.

Alison's presentation complements the talk by Christina Rennick from St Vincents Hospital earlier this year, Hospital Safety during the Pandemic, which you can access here (log in first)

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COVID-19 response in Victoria: A union perspective

This was a very informative session that consolidated many of the issues we learned about throughout the last 18 months that affect vulnerable workers. Dominic highlighted a number of areas where the essential workforce was exposed to risks. In particular, he spoke about aged care, the quarantine frontline, supply chain and meatworks. In the case of the latter, while WorkSafe acted quickly to produce guidance, some of it was not practical and needed to be modified.

Dominic and his team have developed an extensive program to assist Health & Safety Representatives (HSRs) and workers, with resources that are readily available via two of their websites: www.covidsafeworkplace.org and www.ohsrep.org.au. Resources include checklists for auditing and free 2-hour training sesssions.

Dominic also spoke about those who worked from home and how the rush to implement this new way of working has resulted in its own challenges. In our December 2020 presentation by David Caple, he went into this issue in greater detail and you can access it here (log in first)

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New research into manual handling injuries in healthcare.

Date & Time: Tuesday 14 September 2021 at 12:00pm 

PLEASE NOTE: ONLINE ZOOM MEETING:

Speaker: Professor David Caple AM.

Topic: New research into manual handling injuries in healthcare

Work-based musculoskeletal injuries remain a major issue, but research is telling us more about how and why these injuries occur, along with better prevention and management strategies.

Professor David Caple AM has recently been involved in a range of projects related to manual handling injury prevention in hospitals. These injuries account for around 70% of Workcover claims in hospitals for both clinical and non-clinical staff.
He discussed interesting results from a couple of studies in a zoom presentation for Central Safety Group on Tuesday, 14 September.

One of these is a study done with La Trobe University’s Biomechanics laboratory that focused on shoulder injuries in clinical staff. These account for 40% of their musculoskeletal injuries, while 60% are back injuries.

David also spoke about work being done to address the increase in injuries involving the handling of a range of patients, including those with co-morbidities such as dementia, those who present fall risks and bariatric patients.

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Note: RSVP by close of business Monday 9 August 2021.  When booking for this Event, please ensure you select the September Meeting from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP to this meeting.

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Managing the healthcare challenge of COVID-19.

Date & Time: Tuesday 10 August 2021 at 12:00pm 

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Speaker: Alison Hunt-Sturman, Group Manager, WHS, Mercy Health Australia

Topic: Living through COVID-19 in healthcare and aged care

When the Covid-19 crisis arrived, organisations everywhere were hit with a massive task without warning and precedent. The healthcare industry faced significant challenges in managing and implementing new and complex requirements.
Alison Hunt-Sturman, Group Manager, WHS, at Mercy Health Australia, presented a compelling account of what happened across the healthcare industry as well as within her organisation. Mercy Health manages four public hospitals, 30 aged care homes, in-patient and outpatient mental health services, and home care services around Australia.
“We are serving some of the most vulnerable members of the community. We couldn’t just shut down,” said Alison. In addition to the many thousands of clients in its care, Mercy Health has a workforce of 9,000 people.
There was a great deal for Alison's team and other sections to care about, learn, plan, organise and manage carefully to ensure everything was kept functioning safely, all the while dealing with the impact of the unknowns. Alison discussed the issues they faced, how it affected their operations and people, and how they responded.

Note: RSVP by close of business Monday 9 August 2021.  When booking for this Event, please ensure you select the August Meeting from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP to this meeting.

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Human factors and human error

There was a great turn-out for this presentation, even though some members were a bit shy to turn on their cameras!  Nevertheless, all attendees were treated to an excellent and informative session.

The bulk of the presentation focused on human error, which typically accounts for 60-80% of incidents. However, Kate demonstrated that there are many aspects to this. For instance, it doesn't relate to operators alone; it could be human error on the part of a designer or the person who does a risk assessment, among others.

In relation to design, it is worth considering optical illusions and perception of information. This was illustrated brilliantly via an interactive section of the talk that showed us just how easy it is to misread visual information. One of the take-home messages for me was that human errors do not occur randomly; context is important.

If you would like learn more about V/Line's general approach to safety, Sylvia Hudson gave a detailed presentation in April 2016 about their updated management system Destination Zero (log in first)

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Dr Kate Branford, Senior Human Factors Specialist, V/Line.

Date & Time: Tuesday 8 June 2021 at 12:00pm 

PLEASE NOTE: ONLINE ZOOM MEETING:

Topic: Safety risks and understanding human factors

Human Factors issues constitute a significant source of risk in many industries. Human error contributes to an estimated 60-80% of incidents, while other Human Factors issues also play a part in a large proportion of incidents.

Understanding human error, how it contributes to safety incidents and how it can be managed, was the subject of a zoom talk by Dr Kate Branford on 8 June, 2021.  Read more...

Note: Full video of this meeting now available from the 'View Presentation' button below. Available for a limited time to members only.

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Gavin Kenny, Manager SHEQ-Service Delivery, Amsterdam Water.

Date & Time: Tuesday 11 May 2021 at 12:00pm 

PLEASE NOTE: ONLINE ZOOM MEETING:

Topic: Using technology to make work safer

Amsterdam Water shared how technology has improved its safety systems and performance in a zoom presentation to Central Safety Group on Tuesday, 11 May. Gavin Kenny, Manager SHEQ - Service Delivery at Amsterdam Water, has introduced a number of digital technology improvements to safety processes there.
Amsterdam Water is a statutory body which supplies high-quality water, provides reliable sewerage services, integrates drainage systems to prevent flooding and enhances waterways and land for Amsterdam and its surrounds. Gavin spoke about the changes involved, how they were introduced and the resulting efficiency gains. Read more...

Note: Full video of this meeting now available from the 'View Presentation' button below. Available to members only.

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COVID-19 response in Victoria: A union perspective

Date & Time: Tuesday 13 July 2021 at 12:00pm 

PLEASE NOTE: ONLINE ZOOM MEETING:

Speaker: Dominic Melling, Lead Organiser, OHS Team, Victorian Trades Hall Council

Topic: COVID-19 response in Victoria: A union perspective

The COVID-19 crisis brought some major challenges to unions affiliated with the Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC), their members and workers. These challenges, along with lessons learned and solutions, will be discussed by Dominic Melling, Lead Organiser of the OHS Team at the VTHC in a zoom presentation at midday on Tuesday, 13 July.

Dominic’s talk will cover essential workers who reported to their usual workplaces throughout the lockdowns as well as people working from home. He will review the structural problems that facilitated the spread of COVID-19 and the Union’s role in advising Health and Safety Representatives and members. Using case studies from high risk industries, he will discuss what happened when OHS structures and procedures failed and what lessons can be learned from these failures.

The presentation will outline VTHC initiatives to support HSRs and workers, and Unions’ lobbying efforts that led to changes in Government policy designed to protect workers and the community and to eliminate the spread of COVID-19.

About the speaker:
Dominic Melling has been the Lead Organiser of the OHS Team at the Victorian Trades Hall Council since January 2020. In this role he works with affiliated unions in their collective efforts to campaign for safer workplaces and better conditions for workers. Recent examples of campaigns include the introduction of industrial manslaughter as an offence; exposure standards to crystalline silica and the introduction of psychological health regulation.

Dominic also assists WorkSafe Victoria by liaising with relevant VTHC affiliates in relation to health and safety and workers’ compensation matters.

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Note: RSVP by close of business Monday 12 July 2021.  When booking for this Event, please ensure you select the July Meeting from the dropdown list (shaded orange), to RSVP to this meeting.

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