Workplace Health and Safety in Health and Aged Care Settings
The framework
Work health and safety in Australian health settings rests on harmonised WHS legislation, with each jurisdiction having its own Act and regulator. Know the duty holders: the person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) has the primary duty to ensure health and safety so far as reasonably practicable; officers must exercise due diligence; workers must take reasonable care of themselves and others, follow instructions, and report hazards and incidents. Consultation with workers is a legal duty, not a courtesy.
Key concepts
- Risk management cycle: identify hazards, assess risk (likelihood and consequence), control risk using the hierarchy of control, review and monitor.
- Hierarchy of control: eliminate, substitute, isolate, engineering controls, administrative controls, then personal protective equipment as the last line of defence.
- Hazard reporting and incident notification: notifiable incidents include death, serious injury or illness, and dangerous incidents.
- Manual handling and safe patient handling: load, posture, environment and equipment; use hoists and slide sheets, never lift alone when equipment is available.
- Emergency procedures: fire, evacuation, duress, medical emergency, and the meaning of RACE and similar local acronyms.
- Psychosocial hazards: occupational violence, aggression, fatigue, shift work, and bullying.
Traps
Questions often place PPE as the best control when elimination or engineering controls rank higher. Another trap is confusing a hazard (source of harm) with a risk (chance of harm). Also watch for questions about who is responsible: WHS is shared, but the primary duty sits with the PCBU.
Rule of thumb
When unsure, apply the hierarchy: can the hazard be removed entirely? If yes, that always beats a lower-order control.
Worked example
A question describes a wet floor in a corridor. The best control is not a warning sign alone; it is eliminating the hazard by cleaning or isolating the area, with signage as an administrative back-up.