Section 23 of the OHS Act imposes a duty on persons in charge of a workplace to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons other than employees are not exposed to health and safety risks. In recent months WorkSafe has charged multiple health care providers after patients have taken their own lives while in their care.
It is hoped that this follow-up from WorkSafe to these tragic events will improve the safety of vulnerable people seeking help from healthcare facilities.
WorkSafe has this week charged Northern Health at Epping following the death of a patient. The patient took their own life after being involuntarily admitted to the hospital for treatment in July 2023. This matter is listed for a filing hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 4 February 2025.
WorkSafe has also charged Barwon Health in Geelong earlier this month following the death of a patient. The patient took their own life while undergoing treatment in the hospital’s acute psychiatry unit in December 2022. This matter was listed for a filing hearing in the Geelong Magistrates’ Court on 7 January 2025
This follows the charging earlier in 2024 of Monash Health at Dandenong for s.23 breaches following the death of a patient who took their own life in February 2022 four days after being admitted to the facility after contacting police. This charge was the second for Monash Health, after receiving charges in 2015 for a patient death in similar circumstances at their Casey Hospital in Berwick.