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The Human Resources Strategy emphasises partnership, consistency and fairness for those working in the NHSiS. The recommendations below build on these commitments to staff by ensuring they have full access to a high quality, equitable OHSS which is comprehensive and inclusive.
This Short Life Working Group makes recommendations about the broad shape of the OHSS. In recognising the diversity of settings and organisations in the NHSiS it does not set out a specific structure. Alternatively it does describe the responsibilities of NHSiS management and the outcomes and timescales in which these should be achieved.
Staff of the NHSiS are our most important resource. No one should be made ill by their work. The recommendations which follow provide the impetus for the provision of a quality service which is consistent across the NHSiS and which gives good value. The cost of implementing the service will in the long term be realised from direct costs released by reducing injury related compensation, reducing sickness absence and early retirement. Indirect savings will be realised from reduced need for additional staff cover, reduced recruitment and training costs and result in improved quality and outcome of services to patients. The group recognised that issues which are the subject of separate reports like sickness absence and violence towards staff will impact on occupational health and safety services.
Exemplar role
1. The NHSiS must play an exemplar role in the provision of OHSS for its staff. (long term)
Promoting Public Health
2. The primary aim of the NHSiS is to improve health. As a source of trusted specialist advice on OHSS the NHSiS should promote and facilitate the development of high quality OHSS with employers throughout Scotland. (long term)
Structure and responsibilities
3. There must be a clear policy lead from the Management Executive on the lines of responsibility within the NHSiS and for the management of OHSS. (short term)
4. Boards of Trusts and of Health Boards, General Managers, Chief Executives and primary care practitioners must be clear about their statutory and exemplar responsibilities and ensure that OHSS provision is an integral part of risk assessment and risk management at all levels in the NHSiS. (short term)
5. Staff in the NHSiS must be offered a fully integrated service which includes occupational health and safety, personal safety and health promotion under an overarching human resource strategy. (short term)
6. OHSS must be appropriate to the needs of staff and the organisation. Services should use a multi-disciplinary team approach in providing services such as occupational medicine, occupational health nursing, health and safety, occupational hygiene and counselling. Liaison with
other disciplines such as infection control, physiotherapy, moving and handling and fire safety must be encouraged. (short term)
7. Staff and their representatives must be fully involved in developing and determining the standards and provision of occupational health and safety services, personal safety policies and health promotion within their organisation locally. (short term)
Integrated Strategies and Policies
8. OHSS impacts on all areas of employment and business activity and must be fully integrated into all NHSiS organisations' Human Resource strategy and policies. This should include the following:
Education and Training
8.1.Education and training plans should highlight issues which seek to minimise and prevent accidents, risk to the health of staff and patients and empower staff to take equal responsibility for their own health and safety. (medium term)
Health Promotion
8.2.Plans to achieve Scotland's Health at Work award by April 2000 should be fully integrated with OHSS and policies to enable and encourage all staff to improve and manage their own personal health and safety. (short term)
Working Environment
8.3.NHSiS organisations must ensure that they have structures in place to ensure a safe working environment for staff, students and outside contractors. (short term)
8.4.NHSiS organisations must ensure that they have structures in place to ensure a safe environment for all persons while on NHS premises. (short term)
Employment Practice
8.5.1.NHSiS organisations must have in place policies and procedures which promote good working practice and have monitoring arrangements which ensure that their policies work. (short term)
8.5.2.NHSiS organisations must ensure they have family friendly policies in place which complement the OHSS. (short term)
Access
9. All NHSiS staff must have access to a comprehensive, competent and confidential OHSS. This will apply to anyone working in the NHSiS, regardless of whether they work in a hospital, in the community, in primary care general practice or for an independent NHSiS contractor. (short term)
Standards
10. Best practice of OHSS must be based on benchmarked standards and common across the NHSiS. (medium term)
11. Trusts and Health Boards must set targets for improving staff health and reduction in accidents and injuries to both staff and patients. (short term)
12. NHSiS organisations must develop policies which give security of employment, where possible, including redeployment, as a consequence of disability or ill health. (short term)
Monitoring
13. Trusts, Health Boards and primary care contractors must establish within common NHSiS reporting structures indicators of service supply and quality, standard audit procedures and indicators of outcomes for OHSS. Key indicators of supply and outcome should be published and available for comparative review purposes. (medium term)
Research Base
14. A research base should be developed in OHSS to establish evidence based programmes to address the most common work related illness issues such as musculo-skeletal disorders and stress. (long term)
Resources
15. Health Boards and Trusts should through the Health Improvement Programme and Trust Implementation Programme process set out their timetable for achieving appropriate resources for OHSS in the NHSiS. (short term)
16. The main priority for the OHSS must always be to NHSiS staff and any external services provided should always enhance the current service to NHSiS. Trusts and Health Boards which offer external OHSS services to non NHSiS organisations should ensure the service is offered at commercial rates. (short term)
Timing
17. NHSiS employers must introduce short term recommendations within 12 months, medium term within 18 months and long term within 36 months. Employers must however ensure that statutory requirements are implemented as a matter of urgency.
Action Plan
18. The detailed Action Plan outlined in Section 4 should be supported by the Management Executive. This provides a clear view of responsibilities for action and a timescale.
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