Barchester Healthcare Effectively being & Safety Employees response to Covid-19 – RoSPA Workplace Safety Weblog
Continuity Planning?
Pondering once more to Monday 16th March 2020 I take note getting up early. I was as a consequence of go to actually one in all our properties in Tewkesbury. I was practically to go away the house when an e-mail landed from a senior Director telling us all to ‘Keep’ all visits and be ready for a conference identify that morning. Positive, this was the start of the ‘Lock Down’. With the benefit of hindsight, how ready have been we for what was about to happen subsequent?
Our administration workforce has already undertaken quite a few strategic planning exercises. On the 16th March, a ”strategic govt workforce” was established and a planning and response course of produced – that’s nonetheless a reside doc.
Office based staff have been then requested to work at home. Inside quite a few days we acquired tales {{that a}} member of staff based at residence had hit their head on a shelf. Maybe time for a DSE analysis possibly? ‘We might even see it was time to leap into movement’
So how did we reply?
One among many first H&S challenges we encountered was the number of contractors who could also be visiting our properties. All non-essential visits had been stopped. LOLER inspections provided us with quite a few additional challenges. LOLER engineers would often have entry to all areas all by our properties. We deemed this should be classed as a essential go to and decided one of many easiest methods forward may be to attenuate the ”actions” undertaken by the engineer inside each residence. We decided to allocate an area/lounge for the engineer to work in and all gear may be delivered to them, checked and put once more in situ. This would possibly protect social distancing measures and scale back the hazard of cross contamination factors contained in the residence.
On the subject of Dwelling working, the Effectively being and Safety workforce have developed a 2 internet web page self-assessment which now combines DSE, lone working and fireside safety. It’s less complicated to utilize in its current sort and far more streamlined.
Laundry – now we now have reviewed our procedures and produced a Customary Working Course of (SOP) to help sort out points relating to contaminated devices
Cleaning – Present factors meant we might have favored to work quickly to provide completely completely different sanitizers and undertake new COSHH menace assessments which are literally in place.
On the subject of cleaning rooms with confirmed or suspected Covid -19 A Customary working course of was moreover produced.
Sustaining hearth safety is a vital drawback for all care suppliers proper now. We had varied properties with on-going enchancment plans in place which have been acknowledged in a Fire Risk Analysis. To help scale back the onsite visits to the properties by contractors, the workforce carried out a consider of all reside/ongoing hearth menace analysis actions. Each movement was assigned a RAG (crimson, amber or inexperienced) rating. This helped us to find out any works classed as vital (safety essential). Contractors will now solely be permitted to attend web sites to complete the remedial works the place the works are deemed Safety essential.
RIDDOR reporting of Covid-19 is now reportable as a sickness. That’s environment friendly from the 5th April. The issue for us: If a member of staff did develop Covid-19, how would everyone knows it was on account of workplace publicity? Now we now have since developed a screening questionnaire, to help decide when a report is the reality is necessary
Fire & Rescue Suppliers have been starting to contact us every via the H&S Employees and regionally on to our properties. Completely completely different ranges of points have been raised by completely completely different Fire & Rescue Suppliers referring to their deliberate response to 999 calls. They’ve been acutely aware of the hazards associated to Covid 19. The hearth service wanted to ensure the safety of their crew. They could want to know the number of optimistic Covid-19 circumstances and as well as suspected circumstances sooner than they’ve been able to reply. Now we now have agreed working protocols in such an event that protect safety for all.
Lastly, we’re opening varied new assemble properties which we might study and assist with the registration/opening. We agreed that such inspections could very nicely be undertaken remotely with assist happening practically.
The last few weeks have been truly troublesome. Events are actually unprecedented. Now we now have been provided with varied questions that we didn’t immediately have an answer to. At events now we now have been requested to make the unimaginable, attainable. What mattered then was that we now have been determined to find a decision, which made sense and ensured some sort of enterprise continuity.
Now wanting forward, I’m constructive there is likely to be a whole host of newest challenges and as well as new questions. We’re going to proceed to provide the assistance and advice as and when it is needed as now we now have on a regular basis carried out sooner than and we’ll attempt to flip into way more ”decision focused” alongside the easiest way
Seemingly there are answers to most questions, nevertheless solely for those who’re devoted to discovering them.
Why will we try this job I hear you ask? Because of safety – save lives and has certainly not been additional essential.
Andy Hollingshead (H&S Supervisor), Lisa Harris (H&S Supervisor) and Paul Mason (H&S Director).
