NSW forms Hospital Industry Action Group

NSW has launched the Hospital Industry Action Group, which invites representatives from NSW Health, private hospitals, SafeWork NSW and unions to work on key critical safety issues affecting hospital staff — primarily violence and aggression. With 23 SafeWork inspectors involved in the NSW hospitals compliance operation, the action group will use data, intelligence and insights from stakeholders to prevent work-related violence.

The health care and social assistance sector, as the largest and fastest-growing in the state, accounts for more than 60,000 workers in NSW, with a survey from the Australian Workers’ Union and HeadFirst finding that 40% of health and community services workers were exposed to violent or traumatic events at work. This was higher than industries such as construction and mining (both at 15%), and manufacturing (at 8%).

Key critical safety issues to be worked on collectively by the group include patient handling, slips, trips and falls, and psychosocial hazards affecting hospital staff.

“The launch of this Hospital Industry Action Group is essential to helping protect the hardworking staff in our NSW public hospitals,” NSW Minister for Health Ryan Park said. “This builds on the work the Minns Labor government has already done to help ensure the safety of hospital workers, but there is more to do.”

The group builds on the work of the Action Against Violence in NSW Hospitals Working Group, which has included the development of a toolkit to address work-related violence in the hospital system as well as a webinar series on preventing and managing work-related violence and aggression.

Establishment of the Hospital Industry Action Group also follows the state’s body-worn cameras trial, security personnel increases across the system, the use of closed-circuit television and controlling public access to restricted areas, and security practice standardisation across NSW Health facilities.

All staff in NSW public hospitals have ways to summon assistance, which may include a personal mobile or fixed duress alarm. The NSW Government encourages staff to summon the Code Black team response early, to minimise the risk of injury to staff and patients and prevent further escalation of a situation.

Workers who have concerns about workplace health and safety can anonymously contact SafeWork NSW on 13 10 50 or through the Speak Up Save Lives website.

More information on safety in the health sector is available here, at the SafeWork NSW website.

Image credit: iStock.com/sturti