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The Ramsay Way - Summer2013

The Ramsay Way - 2013 | 04 13 Peel Health Campus’ Quality Education Safety & Training (QuEST) team Sue Birtwistle, Amanda Barnes, Kate Darwen & Tanya Cupples with their R U OK? Day gear. NATIONALSAFETY Work Health Safety & Governance Following the introduction of the Model WHS Act (harmonisation) in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia the National Safety Team have been doing a great deal of work in the ‘Officer’ space and the obligations arising from it. Whilst not all jurisdictions have introduced the Model legislation as yet, RHC has implemented a WHS framework for key personnel under harmonisation and applied it nationally. To assist all key personnel and facilities meet their legislative obligations, WHS Action Plans have been developed for every facility. The Plan is broken into twelve principles of Due Diligence which cover all 6 legislative criteria and the actual activities that should be undertaken at site level to satisfy the relevant duty. This is another piece of the safety jigsaw which complements and strengthens the RHC Safety Management System. SAFE WORK AUSTRALIA MONTH! Why do you want to go home safely? This year’s national theme is: Safety is a frame of mind. Get the picture. During the month people are encouraged to think about why they want to come home from work safely. Any solutions or ideas from any department/employee can be submitted into the competition – the more entries we receive, the more workers can benefit. All sites have until the end of 2013 to prepare and submit your entry. ONE OF THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL ASPECTS OF A SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IS THE HSC – HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE (ALSO KNOWN AS THE WHS, SAFETY, OHS, & OSH COMMITTEE) & SAFETY REPRESENTATIVES (HSRS). HSRs are elected members of staff who represent a workgroup or area/department in issues relating to Health and Safety. Every single Ramsay facility has a number of HSRs who speak for all the employees in that hospital. For the sixth year Ramsay Health Care Western Australia and the National Safety Team ran the WA OSH Rep Conference which is a conference dedicated to all the HSRs in WA, of which there are almost 100. WA should be very proud of their commitment to safety and the role of the HSR over the last 6 years. This conference saw over 80 staff attend and is a wonderful indictment on the importance of safety in the West and in Ramsay. More information regarding the role and responsibilities of HSRs can be found at the Safety and Workers Compensation Home Page. This year, Ramsay was asked “How far will you go to share the RUOK message?” Ramsay’s answer was loud and clear! Ramsay staff put in fantastic efforts, transporting a bright yellow question mark - Qmark3 - to numerous work teams and hospitals, prompting many meaningful conversations along the way. Qmark3 travelled a total of 5672 kilometres across Qld. QMark3’s journey included Greenslopes, St Andrews Ipswich, John Flynn, Pindara, Caboolture, North West and Rockhampton hospitals before being given to the general public for the rest of his journey! Many other sites held RUOK activities to encourage and enable people to regularly and meaningfully ask ‘are you ok?’, showing support to our friends and colleagues by lending an ear. A team of nurses at Peel Health Campus encouraged people to check in with their friends and colleagues and ask “are you okay?” to help fight depression and suicide. World Suicide Prevention Day coincided with with R U OK? Day recently. Clinical nurse educator and part of the Quality Education Safety and Training (QuEST) team Kate Darwen and helped out with a fundraising morning tea at the campus café which raised $2000 towards RUOK? “People spend a lot of time with their work colleagues and they can sometimes be the first to notice if something is up,” Ms Darwen said. “By having a strong work team and a family-type environment it can be easier to share your feelings, whether it is personal or about work.” SAFETY It’s no accident!


The Ramsay Way - Summer2013
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