National Safe Work Month 2023
In her role as Work Health and Safety Coordinator for The Salvation Army Aged Care (“TSAAC”), Lee Bayram, ensures safe work practices are promoted across its 21 Centres and its Services. More recently, TSAAC has focused on increasing the presence for their Health and Safety Representatives (“HSRs”), with Lee telling, “Health and Safety Representatives are appointed in our workplaces to advocate for and ensure the well-being of both residents and staff by identifying and addressing potential health and safety hazards. They play a crucial role in promoting a safe and secure environment, facilitating communication between management and workers, and helping to prevent accidents and injuries within the facility.”
Sharon Kidd, a Lifestyle team member at Carpenter Court Aged Care Centre, has recently been appointed as HSR and she explains her commitment to her role, “I am very passionate about my role and keeping my workplace safe,” she says. “I have seen a huge change in the staff interest in keeping safe and I have found that constructive criticism regarding Work Health and Safety (“WHS”) issues are taken well, and changes are happening for the better.”
The positive changes and commitment to safety at Carpenter Court was most recently reflected in their audit. “I did my first audit in August, and I have seen a massive improvement, with a 92% pass,” Sharon states. “This was possible with consultation with management and staff.” Lee outlines that safety audits are a regular occurrence and key strategy to ensure safety across our Centres. “A safety audit evaluates our organisations safety policies, practices, and procedures to identify areas of improvement, assess compliance with safety regulations, and reduce the risk of accidents and injuries,” she explains. “Its primary goal is to promote a safer working environment and prevent potential safety hazards.”
Lee notes that the 92% score in the audit was a significant outcome for Carpenter Court. “The excellent accomplishment of Carpenter Court Aged Care Centre in the recent WHS audit highlights the dedication of the Centre and WHS Aged Care team,” she says. “The success of the achievement is reflective of the proactive leadership of the WHS Representative, Sharon, on site who orchestrated collaboration among the Centre Management, as well as drawing on experience from her external WHS Representative Accredited Training.”
Tony Zhang, the Clinical Care Manager at Bethesda Aged Care Centre in Queensland, is the HSR at his Centre. Tony also notes that there are check-ins to keep the safety of staff and residents in place. “Every three months, we have a WHS meeting, and we talk about any updates, recent incidents and all staff are welcome to attend. We are happy to raise any issues and the process improvement system. Then every three months I do a self-inspection to see all the equipment and inspections are up to date. I am managing stock as well, so I can go into the stock room and see if things are expired and so on.”
For Tony, National Safety Month is especially important in an aged care setting, reflecting on the importance of keeping residents safe. “We have a lot of residents in high care settings, so people need to be aware that there are systems and practices in place to avoid them getting injured.”
Sharon notes that keeping staff up to date and informed is key to keeping the workplace safe and secure, along with having well defined policies and procedures. This October, she is especially passionate about National Safety Month. “I believe National Safety Month is very important to acknowledge because we all want to stay safe and return to our families, at the end of the day, the same way we left.”
National Safe Work Month 2023 is a dedicated time to committing to build a healthy workplace, with the objective to encourage all individuals and organisations to prioritise safety in their workplaces. In doing so, individuals and organisations work towards minimising work-related injuries, illnesses and fatalities.
