Safety Policy Statement for the Department of Veterans Affairs

The risk management program in any business, especially in a health care organization is an integral part of its day to day operation. The purpose of the risk management department is summed up by Kavaler & Alexander (2014), “…a program designed to reduce the incidence of preventable accidents and injuries to minimize the financial loss to the institution should any accident or injury occur” (p. 5). Protecting employees, patients, vendors and visitors is an ongoing process and one that needs to be updated when the healthcare organization has deemed necessary. This paper will demonstrate the importance of presenting the risk management program to new employees, compliance with the standards set forth by the American Society of Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM), propose recommendations or changes needed to further improve the program, as well as examine the administrative process of managing a risk program.

2.2 Support others to comply with legislative and organisational health, safety and risk management policies, procedures and practices relevant to their work.

Describe how current health and safety legislation, policies and procedures are implemented in the setting.

As health care workers we are under a legal obligation to protect an individual from any kind of abuse, whether it is physical, financial, emotional, sexual or psychological .Legislation, policies and procedures exist to promote a safer working environment and reduce the potential for risks occurring. They are tailored for the needs of each setting, known and understood by employers and employees and reviewed on a regular basis.

"To continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value” (Jointcommission.org, 2015). These requirements are regimented in the National Patient Safety Goals and are enforced via surveys and internal inspections to ensure that healthcare institutions abide by the safety mechanisms put in place to facilitate the optimal patient outcomes and environments.

When an emergency occurs and first aid is required it is always important for a qualified first aider to carry out any first aid required there are many reasons for this, the most important is that if a non qualified person try s to give first aid they may cause more damage or injury to the individual, it is also against policies and procedures of organisations and health and safety legislations.

Mr. D’ Lake the safety policy states that when an employee finds an injured person, they should call two other employees to help evaluate the situation; did your employee adhere to this policy? This establishes if the employees followed safety procedures once again.

In every work place there should be policies set in place. These policies come from the law and make reference to the standard that is legally required in a health and social care setting. These include Fire Escape plans, Health and Safety policies and

Policies and procedures are in place for all employers and employees to follow. The Health and Safety Act 1974 is like the overall

To assure quality and to promote a culture of safety, health care organizations must address the problem of behaviors that threaten the performance of the health care team.

In this task I will be describing how health and safety legislation, policies and procedures promotes the safety of individuals in a Hospital. Quality care is an important issue for both health care workers and their partners. Government continue to work on implementing staffing law that will upgrade the medical systems. Hospitals are required to provide security for patients and staff. Mechanical equipment, housekeeping, administrative and food staff play important roles in preventing all environmental hazards. Safety concerns surrounding these hazards include injury, illness, disease exposure, disaster

Patient safety one of the driving forces of healthcare. Patient safety is defined as, “ the absence of preventable harm to a patient during the process of healthcare or as the prevention of errors and adverse events caused by the provision of healthcare rather than the patient’s underlying disease process. (Kangasniemi, Vaismoradi, Jasper, &Turunen, 2013)”. It was just as important in the past as it is day. Our healthcare field continues to strive to make improvement toward safer care for patients across the country.

Safety First is a phrase most have heard throughout their career, but what impact does that have when there is an increase of safety incidents on base? Newly appointed safety officers inherit any outstanding safety challenges as well as any benchmark programs that brings safety to light. However, if the program is broken the safety officer must utilize the skills harbored within assigned personnel to make a difference for the betterment of the wing. As the new wing safety officer, I have been tasked to eradicate the trends in safety mishaps and make sure there is a process in place to prevent future occurrences. This paper will outline an

2012 Joint Commission Patient Safety Goals. (n.d.). Retrieved January 2014, from Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center: www.lovell.fhcc.va.gov/about/2012PatientSafetyGoals.pdf

In today’s health care system, “quality” and “safety” are one in the same when it comes to patient care. As Florence Nightingale described our profession long ago, it takes work and vigilance to ensure we are doing the best we can to care for our patients. (Mitchell, 2008)