Safety doesn’t happen by chance or guesswork. It requires risk management and doing the OHS fundamentals well. The first step to safety is to identify hazards.

Workplace hazards are sources of potential harm or damage to someone or something in any work environment. They can be material or any activity that has the likelihood to cause injuries under specific conditions. Hazards should be eliminated as soon as they are identified to prevent workplace incidents or fatalities. Early detection of hazards and implementing safety practices will help prevent work-related injuries and illnesses.

Some ways to identify hazards at Northern Health include:

VHIMS
Collecting information on incidents through VHIMS is one method of building a profile of the types of hazards and risks present in our workplace.

If you have experienced an incident or a near-miss event, report it in VHIMS. This will allow your manager to understand the situation and provide necessary support. Where possible, completing a VHIMS should occur before the end of a working day while the information is still fresh in your mind.

The OHS & Wellbeing team reviews VHIMS at the start of every day and provide support to the manager and the staff as appropriate.

Safety Walk
Reporting reactively can only go so far in protecting the workplace. Proactive and regular assessments of the workplace, such as safety walks and safety inspections will help to flag both existing and newly developed hazards.

Conducting safety walks in the workplace is important to preventing the risk of accidents and injuries. Safety walks should be conducted quarterly by managers or their delegates. Health and safety representatives are also encouraged to participate.

Before starting an inspection, staff are encouraged to review the previous inspection report and ensure that any problems identified in that report have been corrected. After the inspection, complete the action plan and specify the recommended corrective action(s) (e.g. Asset plus raised), before assigning a responsible person and establishing a definite correction due date.

The video below demonstrates a simple and direct approach to conducting a workplace safety walk.

For more information about safety walks, please visit the Intranet.

If you see something that is not safe, you have to speak up. Once we are aware of the hazard, we can then manage the risk.
Please refer to Risk Management Fundamentals for more information.

You are the key to your safety, your colleague’s safety and your patient’s safety! Safety is my business, your business, our business.

Featured image: Ward 18 staff.