Risk Management of Slips, Trips, and Falls in Aged Care Kitchen Settings WHS4035

Introduction

Organisations and the scope of the report

Best Aged Care is one of the leading healthcare organisations in Western Australia, that provides compassionate residential care for the elderly and people with a range of physical and mental disabilities, many of whom are over 60 years of age. There are 10 different residential care facilities of the organization in the state with each having about 100 clients and the staff of 40 employees in each of them. Also, in Perth, Australia, the corporation s headquarters manage corporate services with 90 employees.

Issues to recommend improvements

The current report is centred on evaluating the [Slips, Trips, and Falls] risk mainly in the kitchen sections of such facilities noting the recent mishaps. The purpose is to consider possible threats offer efficient measures for strength and ability improvement of employees and minimize staff injury frequency.

Background

Summarising the relevant information

Relating to the identified risk [Slips, Trips, and Falls] in the setting of matured care offices implies that the perils are fairly serious and could gather in the event of ill-advised approach. [Slips, Trips, and Falls] are general dangers across the medical care area, however particularly important in settings, for example, matured care associations in light of the fact that the laborers implied are at more serious gamble of creating business related injury and disease, and, the clients served are more vulnerable to falls or perhaps have portability impediments (Henderson and Willis, 2020). On the off chance that you chose slip, trip as the risk, it is critical to realize that slip, trips is errands that include bowing, bending or lifting of burdens. Control of weighty consideration hardware: In matured care offices, slip, trips covers lifting and moving occupants, articles and things like clinical gear among different undertakings. These activities could lead to Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) and are predominant healthcare workplace hazards. The jobs explained entail repetitive movements, which if continued over a long period, the employees will experience chronic injuries affecting their health and hence the quality of service they will be delivering to the residents (Sivertsen, Harrington, and Hamiduzzaman, 2019). If the hazard being assessed is Slips, Trips and Falls, these are very dangerous especially in aged care facilities since the residents as well as caregivers are. at risk of getting injured. Tripping, slipping, and falling hazards can be attributed to wet and slippery floors, uneven terrains, ill-chosen shoes, inadequate lighting and obstacles on the floors. This risk is however higher in the kitchen areas of the aged care facilities given that the floor is usually slippery, especially after a spillage or cleaning.

These are just but some of the complications that the elderly are likely to suffer whenever they fall; they may sustain severe injuries including fractures or head injuries which greatly affect their health thus developing other complications which may be fatal. Staff, for them, trips and falls can cause illnesses and the need to be away from work which affects staffing levels and disrupts the continuity of service (Sinclair et al., 2019). Due to such risks, proper management measures need to be put in place to mitigate the effects of handling hazards and Slips Trips and Fall dangers to staff and residents.

Main legal requirement

As for slips, trips, and falls in Western Australia the legislation that carries the regulation of WHS comprehensively deals with it. The legislation regulating WHS in Western Australia is the Work Health and Safety Act you 2020 (WA) is the principal piece of legislation where an employer has a legal obligation to ensure, so far as is practicable, workers and others who may be at the workplace are not put at risk of harm (Leander and Walz, 2017). For slip & trips, the following regulation contains the subtleties: Word related Wellbeing and Wellbeing Guidelines 1996 (WA). Guideline 3. 1 expects that businesses survey the work environment and decide any undertaking which includes dangerous, decide the dangers which emerge from these exercises and finally give estimates that can be valuable in killing dangers. The guidelines additionally stress ergonomic assessments to configuration work content and workplace that lessens actual pressure. Moreover, the Code of Training: Slip and excursions Assignments (2022) gives subtleties on the best way to manage the dangers, particularly slip and outings undertakings in accordance with the guidelines. This involves such methodologies as applying mechanical help, migrating undertakings that might cause the movement of burdens, and offering staff with information on safe slip and trips dealing with that load (Gray et al., 2020). For Slips, Trips and Falls, Work Health and Safety (General) Regulations 2022 (WA) Regulation 34 explains that the employer must eliminate or reduce the risk of a person slipping, tripping or falling from one level to another that is, in any circumstances, is likely to cause harm. Employers are required to evaluate the risks posed by these hazards and apply control measures to such areas as cleanliness and dryness of the floor, anti-slip mats, appropriate lighting conditions, and overall inspection of the area for any signs of hazards and taking corrective measures on the same. The Code of Practice: A guide that explains how to contain the risk elements of these regulations is Prevention of Falls at Workplaces (2022) this guide explains approaches to managing slips and trip risks in different workplace settings including healthcare settings (Atienza, 2019). These legislative requirements need to be met to the letter because failure to do so attracts harsh consequences for the company and worsens the likelihood of harm to human resources as well as the residents. Hence, the GHs must deliver; aged care services and adhere to WHS legislation as a critical part of risk management (Hussain et al., 2021).

Best practices in control in control of injury risk

Imminent risks encountered in slips, trips, and falls in the ACFs need to be managed very well based on accurate guidelines or policies in line with the states legal requirements and recommended practices (Fromage, 2016). They are those techniques and policies that have been found during research and after using them to have helped in minimizing the occurrence of accidents in the workplace. The guidelines as stated above should be followed to the letter, and the use of mechanical appliances like hoists and transfer belts should be employed in handling the residents to minimize the effort exerted by the personnel. The slip and trips Tasks Code of Practice provided a to control risks associated with hazardous slip and trips tasks, preferentially risk elimination, substitution, engineering control, administrative control and personal protective equipment. For instance, where slip and trips handling cannot be avoided completely, switching a particular slip and trips task with a mechanical one can go a long way in reducing risk factors. Reduced force or stress on the workers can also be achieved by practising engineering controls such as beds and ergonomic equipment. Such procedural measures as staffing rotation to eliminate staff fatigue, and staff training on lifting techniques in cases when the load has to be slip and trips shifted or lifted, are also important and recognized as best practices (Koh, Thirumanickam, and Attrill, 2022). Further guidelines on implementing best practices in healthcare organizations are given by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care which gives additional information on requirements of risk assessment, staff training, and continual improvement processes. Hence, following above said best practices of working aged care facilities can not only meet the legislative standards but can also provide optimum safety to both, staff and residents.

Methodology

Describe the Process

The first step involved the assessment of general risk involved in the process of chemical handling which was done generally by observing the workplace and from books. This included shadowing the observing the daily workings of the kitchen areas, studying incident reports, and evaluating information from other similar aged care facilities. These risks were grouped into risks and slip, trip and fall risks. Each identified hazard was then assessed for its potential risk to staff and residents, considering factors such as the frequency of exposure, severity of potential injury, and the current control measures in place. The assessment sought to identify existing risks that are inherent to these hazards when further risk controls were to be put in place (Burgess et al., 2018).

Tools and Models:

To participate in a systematic evaluation of the risks that were identified, the Risk Matrix model was used to determine the likelihood and severity rankings of the Risks. What assisted in identifying priorities of such hazards relates to this tool helping to focus on those that need critical attention. It was also used in identifying relative control measures concerning the Hierarchy of Control, which entails the elimination of hazards, substitution, engineering control, administration control and personal protective gear (PP). Although, these models offered a systematic way of presenting risk, some of the drawbacks that were found were that the risk ratings that were assigned were often subjective which meant unreported hazards could be missed during observation (Poulos et al., 2021).

Results

Present a Risk Assessment

The risk assessment conducted in the course of this study showed that handling tasks completed in the kitchens entailing moving and lifting heavy containers of foods and equipment had a high inherent risk of causing Musculoskeletal injuries among the staff. As such, some of the risks that were noted include slips, trips and falls mainly contributed by wet floors and obstruction of corridors. The inherent risk ratings were accomplished with the help of the Risk Matrix and according to that, these hazards were assigned as high-risk ones because they possess the ability to cause severe injuries and their probability of occurrence is also high. This called for the need to address the WHS legislation and exercise efforts to improve the existing safety standards in the workplace.

Therefore, to combat the dangers of S&TF other than in exceptional cases in aged care facilities there should be multi-faceted strategies where compliance with legislation laws should be met, and probable best practices employed. In this way, it becomes possible to minimise such dangers and enhance the safety and welfare of the workforce and the occupants of the centres besides being able to conform to legal requirements on WHS in Western Australia (Trankle et al., 2019).

Main outcome of the risk assessment

These recommendations are justified to enhance safety performance, also to help reduce injury rates as well as meet the requirements of the WHS legislation. These findings show that in the long run, the organization is better off in terms of preventing injuries hence the implementation cost should not be a deterrent.

In cases of Slips, Trips, and Falls, suggestions incorporate carelessness of likely explanations of the disaster to limit the event of the incident. This might include such things as normal clearing and wiping of the floor, forestalling the aggregation of water on the floor and keeping floors and passages dry, utilization of slip-safe deck at every possible opportunity and evacuation of all blocks on the floor and hallways. The standards of the Anticipation of Falls Code itself major on the requirement for investigation and upkeep for dangers to be found. Moreover, the pinnacle cap wearers ought to guarantee they put on shoes that have non-slipping soles to limit slipping rates. Other staff prerequisites remember direction for how to perceive and report risks, other than making consciousness of security among the staff. This additionally incorporates the utilization of caution signs whenever when the floor is wet or tricky, or where spill reaction guidelines are in force with respect to any risks which might happen.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this report assessed the hazards of slips, trips, and falls within Best Aged Cares kitchen areas. The implementation of the recommended control measures will not only ensure compliance with WHS legislation but will also enhance the safety performance by a great margin providing a safer workplace for the staff and residents.

Three key recommendations emerged from the assessment:

• Organizational Issues applying mechanical devices such as trolleys and hoists to minimize the likelihood of handling injuries.
• New measures such as the use of non-slippery floors and general cleanliness to avoid cases of slippage, tripping or falling.
• Training the staff on the right ways to move materials safely and on the assessment of specific risks.

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