6 Free Courses in Managing Occupational Health and Safety in Healthcare

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These six short (40-60 minutes) courses provide an introduction to managing occupational health and safety in healthcare. They have been designed for employees with supervisory or managerial responsibilities in healthcare such as line managers and heads of department.

Although offered by the Health and Safety Authority of Ireland, the courses are relevant across healthcare settings of other countries. But the courses are not intended to replace the workplace-specific information and training needs required by health and safety legislation and they do not denote competency in a particular area.

Enrolment in an HSA course is free and easy. Once you decide to enroll in your first course you will be asked to register your details on the site. You can then use your login details to log in and enroll in any other HSA course you wish to complete.

Visit the Health and Safety in Healthcare Courses Page

1: Legislation and Risk Assessment

This course presents learners with an outline of the principal law covering safety and health at work and introduces you to the process of risk assessment and prevention. The content is suitable across all healthcare settings and provides concise practical strategies for everyday use.

The course includes:

• The main requirements of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 (Ireland).
• Four main categories of hazards in healthcare settings.
• The risk assessment process.
• Applying the General Principles of Prevention in your workplace.

2: Safety Management

This course presents learners with an outline of how to successfully manage occupational health and safety in the workplace. The content highlights the importance of safe systems of work, safety consultation and employee instruction, information, and training in maintaining a safe workplace. Learners are also introduced to the principles of accident investigation.

The course includes:

• How to manage occupational health and safety in a healthcare environment.
• The components and function of a safety statement.
• The importance of safety consultation in the workplace.
• The value of information, instruction, training and workplace supervision, and the steps in an accident investigation.

3: Biological Agent Hazards

This course presents learners with an overview of the types and classes of biological agents that they may encounter in healthcare and introduces the concept of biological agents risk assessment. The content is suitable across all healthcare settings and provides concise practical strategies for everyday use.

The course includes:

• The four biological agent risk groups.
• Ways in which healthcare employees are exposed to biological agents in the workplace.
• The types of health effects associated with hazardous biological agents.
• How to carry out a biological agents risk assessment in the workplace, and the measures used to safeguard healthcare employees from harmful effects of hazardous biological agents.

4: Chemical Agent Hazards

This course presents learners with an overview of chemicals, how people can be exposed to them in the workplace and how to assess and control exposure to them. The content is suitable across all healthcare settings and provides concise practical strategies for everyday use.

The course includes:

• Chemical agent hazards that exist in the healthcare environment.
• Ways in which healthcare employees are exposed to chemical agents in the workplace.
• The steps involved in a chemical risk assessment, and measures used to safeguard healthcare employees from the effects of hazardous chemicals.

5: Physical Hazards

This course presents learners with two of the principle causes of accident and injury in healthcare – slips, trip and falls and manual handling (incorporating patient handling). The content highlights how to assess the risk of injury and how to put in place measures to eliminate or reduce the chance of an injury occurring.

The course includes:

• Two of the main physical hazards found in healthcare settings.
• How slips, trips and falls can occur, and the relevant control measures.
• How to conduct a manual handling risk assessment, and control measures relevant to manual handling.

6: Psychosocial Hazards

This course presents learners with one of the main causes of injury and ill-health in healthcare – workplace violence and aggression. The content introduces the learner to the types of incidents that can occur and the effect on workers and outlines ways to prevent or reduce harm.

The course includes:

• Definition of the terms “violence” and “aggression”.
• The effect that violence and aggression has in the workplace.
• How violence and aggression may occur in the healthcare setting, and control measures used to minimise the risk.