SafeWork Australia has published a new WHS Code of Practice for the healthcare and social assistance industry, with a focus on hospitals, aged care facilities, disability support and home-based healthcare settings. This industry has the highest number of work-related injuries of any industry in Australia and a workers’ compensation rate more than double the national average.
The Code will provide information to employers conducting business in the healthcare and social assistance industries and offers practical guidance on how to the manage health and safety risks that are associated with that work, including examples and case studies.
Despite high levels of work health and safety risk, until now there has been a lack of guidance available to employers and workers on how to manage risks. Many people in the industry report a focus on patient or client safety to the detriment of workers, and a general sense that work-related hazards are 'just part of the job’.
This culture needs to change. Workers must be able to go home from work each day without the fear of a life-altering injury. The choice between patient and worker safety is a false one: in fact, worker safety is good for patients too. No one wants to visit a hospital where nurses are at risk of violence; or be operated on by an exhausted doctor.
This new Code of Practice should make it easier for employers, workers and others to understand how WHS laws impact their workplaces. The step-by-step guide should enable employers to better understand their legal obligations and improve the way risks are managed in the industry.
Read more: Model Code of Practice: Healthcare and social assistance industry | Safe Work Australia