We here in the National Health & Safety Function would like to take this opportunity to thank

you for all your support throughout the year and the encouraging messages regarding our OSH

Newsletter and other safety documentation.

We would like to wish you and yours a very safe and happy Christmas, bearing this in mind see

below a few safety tips to help you stay safe over the festive season.

Tis the Season to Be Safe……….From Nick Parkinson, National Health &Safety Function.

N H S F , W o r k p l a c e H e a l t h & W e l l b e i n g U n i t , H R , I s s u e 9 .

O C C U P A T I O N A L S A F E T Y &

H E A L T H N E W S L E T T E R

C o n t e n t s

Christmas Safety

Ergonomics Services

Chemical Agent

Hazards

European Safety Week

Galway University

Hospitals H&S Day

What’s New

Risk Assessments

Smart controls Systems Ltd

C H R I S T M A S W I S H E S

Nick Parkinson,

Head of Function

Smart controls Systems Ltd

Keep lit candles away from decorations and other things that can burn

Replace lights with worn or broken cords or loose bulb connections

Some lights are only for indoor or outdoor use, but not both

Choose decorations that are flame resistant or flame retardant.

Use clips, not nails, to hang lights so the cords do not get damaged

Blow out lit candles and turn off all Christmas lights when you leave the room or go to bed.

Tie up cables and avoid trip hazards.

Be winter ready.

New introductory chemical safety training course launched. This course, which was developed by the Health and Safety

Authority, provides information on the identification and risk assessment of chemicals in the workplace. This course

will take approximately 40-60 minutes to complete and is available at www.hseland.ie. The course is provided for man-

agers, staff and health and safety representatives.

On successful completion of this course you should be able to:

identify chemical agent hazards that exist in the healthcare environment

identify ways in which healthcare employees are exposed to chemical agents in the workplace

outline the steps involved in a chemical risk assessment

describe measures used to safeguard healthcare employees from the effects of hazardous chemicals

When specialised training is identified in respect of certain chemicals and work processes a Training Needs Assessment

should be undertaken FAQ 014:02 and the manager should contact the NHSF training team via the health and safety

helpdesk for further advice and support.

For additional assistance the HSE chemical risk assessment form and additional guidance is available on our website www.hse.ie/safetysafetyandwellbeing

MANAGING HEALTH AND SAFETY IN HEALTHCARE: CHEMICAL AGENT HAZARDS

Page 2 O C C U P A T I O N A L S A F E T Y & H E A L T H

SPECIALIST ERGONOMICS SERVICE

The National Health and Safety Function has identified a specialist ergonomics service for the HSE.

The purpose of the Ergonomist Services is to provide:

Expert advice and assistance to staff experiencing difficulties with ergonomics

in their work environments.

Recommendations around problem solving, risk assessing, utilisation and

where necessary the procurement of ergonomic equipment.

Ergonomic training in setting up work stations/ work systems.

Comprehensive assessments and reports on the findings that are reasonable,

realistic and achieve the desired result.

The existing risk assessment process of the HSE must be completed before consideration to engage the services of

the Ergonomist. Manager approval will be required as costs will be borne by the engaging service.

For more information see our Ergonomics Fast Fact or contact Universal Safety Associates Ltd., Phone: 091 485580.

campaign on its website and through

daily broadcasts and tweets. Over the

week, our website had

Page views

Unique Users

Avg time on page

The top five pages visited were

1. Home page

2. Healthy Workplaces for All Ages

campaign

European Health & Safety Week 2017

ran from 24th to 27th October. The

theme was “Healthy Workplaces for All

Ages, 2016-2017” and focused on the

promotion of a sustainable working life.

Preventing work-related accidents/ ill-

health is essential, as health in later life

is affected by working conditions in

earlier life. The young workers of today

are the older workers of tomorrow.

The National Health and Safety

Function produced HSE specific

material in conjunction with HR and

Occupational Health and promoted the

H E A L T H & S A F E T Y W E E K — H e a l t h y W o r k p l a c e s f o r A l l A g e s

Well done to Galway University Hospitals (GUH) whose Health & Safety Committee established a sub-committee to organise a Health & Safety Day in GUH. This day was organised for the 24th October 2017 to coincide with start of European Safety Week . The day provided opportunities to highlight the “Healthy Workplaces for all Ages” theme for 2016/2017. Promotional stands were located in the main hospital foyer at Galway University Hospital providing information on:

National Health & Safety Function

Fire safety

Manual Handling

Health & Safety Representatives

HSEland

Dangerous Goods

Physical Agents and

Occupational Health

GUH staff involved in their H&S Day

This very successful day provided an opportunity for staff to remind themselves of their role in providing a healthy and safe place for themselves their colleagues and service users.

G A L W A Y U N I V E R S I T Y H O S P I T A L S H E A L T H & S A F E T Y D A Y

Page 3 O C C U P A T I O N A L S A F E T Y & H E A L T H

During the event a Health & Safety quiz was developed for staff who visited the stands with a number of spot prizes provided for the winners.

The GUH Communication Department took some photos on the day which were later tweeted through the Saolta Group Twitter page to further promote the event. Following its success the hospitals health and safety committee is looking forward to planning GUH’s 2018 Health & Safety Day. Like our colleagues in GUH, if you

would like to share your H&S

initiatives—please contact the H&S

Helpdesk at www.hse.ie/

safetysafetyandwellbeing

3. Safety statements and Risk

assessments

4. Stress Campaign (2015)

5. H&S Legislation

The campaign material remains

available at

http://www.hse.ie/eng/staff/

safetywellbeing/

healthyworkplacesforallages/

The 2018 campaign will focus on

Dangerous Substances.

7982

5482

91 sec

HSE NHSF

www.hse.ie/safetyandwellbeing

Risk Assessment forms revision

Site Specific Safety Statement Guideline revision

Display Screen Equipment FAQ revision

Ergonomics Fast fact

Ergonomics Tips for a Healthier Workplace

National Health and Safety Policies reviewed and released

Latex

Lone Working

Biological Agents

C h r i s t m a s W i s h e s f r o m t h e

I n f o r m a t i o n a n d A d v i s o r y

T e a m .

T h a n k y o u f o r a l l y o u r

c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o o u r n e w s l e t t e r

t h r o u g h o u t t h e y e a r .

H a p p y C h r i s t m a s

What's New

Health and Safety Authority www.hsa.ie

Chief Executive of HSA suggests that costs of poor

Occupational Safety and Health Management to

Ireland could be €6bn

HSELanD www.hseland.ie

Online Course:

Managing Health and Safety in

Healthcare: Chemical Agent Hazards

Developed by HSA

R I S K A S S E S S M E N T C H A N G E S

The National Health and Safety Function has completed the changes to the General Health and Safety Risk Assessment

Form. The form captures the legal requirement to identify the hazard; however the format is in line with the National

Risk Assessment Form.

In addition updates have been applied where necessary to the existing topic specific risk assessment forms: Chemical;

Display Screen Equipment; Pregnant Employee and Workplace Stress.

When completing your review of current risk assessments and undertaking new risk assessments you should use the

new forms. The forms and guidance on completion of your risk assessments can be found in our Safety Statement /Risk

Assessment section of our website. www.hse.ie/safetyandwellbeing

Left to Right: John Taylor (H&S Advisor), Karen McKiernan (H&S Advisor),

Kathleen O’Hanlon (Admin), Emer Carroll (H&S Manager Information &

Advisory Team), Lily Conway (Admin) & Mary Cotter (Admin).