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Workplace Health and Safety Throughout 2020-21, the hospital has continued to focus on implementing actions, processes and programs aimed at addressing workplace health and safety hazards and reducing the risk of workplace injuries. This has included: • Increasing the number of health and safety representatives (HSRs), to ensure that all work areas are represented for consultation purposes, and engaging HSRs in activities such as risk assessments and incident investigations. • Providing additional education to leaders to ensure that they are able to fully exercise their responsibilities from a health and safety perspective, including using our hazard and incident reporting system (SolvSafety) to record and track actions taken to address identified hazards. • Reviewing WHS policies and procedures to ensure they reflect contemporary WHS practice and internal processes.
• Developing a strategic WHS Improvement Plan, aimed at improving our safety culture and the capability of leaders, along with a range of initiatives to prevent workplace injuries. Our Staff Wellbeing Program took on a new form this year, as the pandemic limited the number of face-to-face activities we were able to conduct. Whilst we have still been able to deliver our regular, and very popular, programs such as general health and skin checks, we have had to turn to digital means in other areas. During the height of the pandemic, we introduced Wellbeing Wednesday emails. These blog-style emails are distributed to staff on a fortnightly basis and provide information about various aspects of wellness, including fitness, mental health, nutrition and social wellbeing, as well as recommendations on recipes, podcasts and books to support wellbeing.
In September, the hospital participated in Beyond Blue’s R U OK? Day. We recognise that maintaining healthy levels of mental wellbeing is extremely important in any context, but perhaps even more so in our industry where staff can often experience additional emotional fatigue as they care for patients who may be feeling stressed and anxious. As part of R U OK? Day, members of the HR Division and the Staff Executive Committee (SEC), with the help of some volunteers, provided staff with free cups of coffee on the Waverley House lawns, encouraging them to ‘take a break and check in’ with a co-worker. Throughout the week surrounding R U OK? Day, communication bulletins were also distributed to staff each day, highlighting ways to look after their own mental wellbeing.
We recognise that maintaining healthy levels of mental wellbeing is extremely important.
St Andrew’s Hospital 2020 | 2021 Annual Report
