Occupational Health & Safety Measures Health Care

Question: Describe about the Occupational Health Safety Measures for Health Care. Answer: It has been seen that, every organization has the element of occupational health safety (OHS) in place. In order to have smooth functioning within the organization, the elements of OHS shall be given due importance. The employers shall adopt various systematic OHS systems so as to manage the smooth functioning of the same. It shall be taken into consideration that, health and safety of the employees is an integral part of the management function. There are mainly five elements of OHS which shall be kept in mind by any given organization. They are management the commitment policy, planning, implementation, measurement evaluation and review improvement (Alli, 2008). Management of the commitment policy is an essential element for the success of the health and safety management program. In this aspect, the top officials of the organization shall determine the current OHS policy at workplace, determines the roles and responsibility of the people accountable for the same, to assess the performance to see whether the resources are up to the mark and helps to improve the OHS system. A policy regarding occupational health safety shall be distributed throughout the organization in order to aware the diverse nature of the workplace (Occupational health, n.d.). The policy of OHS shall consists of the following aspects i.e. to seek the commitment towards OHS, look for a preventive measure, to look into the roles and responsibilities of the managers and employees accountable for the same and recognize the hazards management approach i.e. identification of the hazards, assessment of the risks and control. It shall be seen that, the top officials have the o verall responsibility to provide a health and safe workplace for its workers. This means that, procurement of the various resources shall be done in order to meet the health and safety requirements (Poirier Feder, 2001). Consultation amongst the workers employers has been referred to as a crucial element in order to pose a positive approach to health safety practices within the workplace. Consultation amongst the workers employers will help the employees to have a better knowledge of the OHS concerns the various preventive measures to be taken care of. The main role of the OHS committee within the organization is to identify the hazards, assess the risks involved, look for a preventive approach, implement the controls, review the effectiveness of controls, investigate the incidents, and change the work practices planning for new work processes (Qiang Ki Chow, 2007). Proper measurement evaluation of all the aspects of OHS programs shall be done within the organization so as to meet the objectives in the long run. The monitoring and evaluation process shall be interlinked with the on - going activities and a corrective measure shall be established. General monitoring and evaluation shall take pl ace with the organization so as to provide a healthy working environment for the same. Some of the common monitoring inspections within the workplace would be to check the fire extinguishers, to look into the fire alarms, housekeeping, storage inspection of the workplace in a thorough manner. Reviewing and improving the ongoing OHS program shall be done by the senior officials and it is done in certain process. Auditing has been referred to as the key role in reviewing and improving the OHS program (Worsfold Griffith, 2003). The review shall be conducted both internally externally. Recommendations shall be provided to improve the system. Corrective measures shall be implemented in the same. An example to have an in-depth knowledge regarding occupational health safety (OHS) has been discussed in this section of the essay. The importance of occupational health safety (OHS), in the hotel catering industry has been described to have a fair view of the same. It shall be taken into consideration that, safety measures in the hotel and catering industry is quite high. It has been referred to as a critical aspect for health safety performance. The hotel and catering industry offers wide range of services to the people including pubs, restaurants, fast food chains, bistros coffee shops (Worsfold Griffith, 2003). The hotel and catering industry has been referred to as a rapidly changing industry. Some of the common hazards experienced in the hotel and catering industry are slips, falls, trips, cuts burns. The hotel catering industry is accompanied with large number of physical psychological risks which can be summarized as follows. There is certain physically demanding wo rk which demands for standing in the kitchen for long hours, repetitive activities in the kitchen such as chopping, cleaning of the utensils, stirring, carrying heavy loads such as bed or any other furniture carrying a loaded tray also pose problems in the long run. It has been seen that, high noise levels high sound levels such as Discotheques, Pubs or night clubs leads to hearing loss (Hasle Zwetsloot, 2011). It has been seen that, in most of the cases the noise levels are high in the hotel industry as the customers are talking to one another, waiters shouting on each other, clashing of the utensils different kitchen appliances (Worsfold Griffith, 2003). The low light conditions in the hotel might be pleasant for the customers but it may cause high levels of destruction i.e. tripping, falling, etc. Food spills on walkways, slippery mats, no signs and low lightings can lead to slips, trips fall. Use of sharp needles, knives shall be done by wearing disposable gloves. Tongs p ilers shall be used pick other sharp objects. In case of cleaning the washrooms, workers come across various fluids such as blood spills, feces, etc. Therefore, use of disposable gloves along with various other visible materials shall be used. Use of disposable towels shall be used to dispose it off in the garbage bin (Ganesh, 2011). Safe work procedures refer to the directions i.e. how the work shall be carried out in a given organization. Information regarding hazards how to eliminate the same is done to minimize the risks. It shall be seen that, a written safe work procedure shall be followed which would help the workers to perform the activities in the long run. some of the common hazards in the hotel and catering industry such as disposing off the hot oil, handling garbage, turning mattresses, cleaning washrooms, cleaning swimming pools cleaning blood or other fluids require safe work procedures. The process of developing the safe work procedures is to determine the overall task which requires safe work procedures, identification of the hazards associated with each step break down the task (Balzaretti, Marzano Cattaneo, 2009). For example, in case of hotel and catering industry one of the safe work procedures for a basic kitchen hazard has been listed in this section. The task is to dispose of the hot oi l from the deep fat fryer and transfer it to the oil dump drum. Following safe work procedure steps shall be followed i.e. drain the hot oil into a container, transport the same outside the kitchen transfer the oil into the oil dump drum. Some of the basic hazard associated with the same is to cool the oil in the deep fryer (allow the oil to cool before draining it), drain the oil into a container and slowly transport the oil out in the oil dump drum. Once the safe work hazards have been prepared, various ways to eliminate the same shall be done. For example to clean the deep fat fryer some of the proactive measures shall be taken into place i.e. use non slip closed toe shoes, rubberized gloves shall be used while practicing the same, goggles and face shield shall be used a rubberized apron long enough to cover the lower legs shall be used. It shall be ensured that, proper training education shall be imparted to the workers so as to have a safe and healthy working environment. F or example, workers shall be well trained while performing various hazardous tasks. Orientation has been referred to as one of the key measures to prevent work related incidents (Akram, 2015). They provide the opportunity to the workers to establish health safety guidelines before they start with a new job. Orientation shall take into consideration tasks which the worker is not trained to do so, encourage the workers to raise queries when he/she is unsure about a particular task. In addition to the above, any hazardous material, rights responsibilities of the workers shall be informed along with how to report the hazard and provide first aid to the same. In depth supervision training shall be imparted to the workers as to how to perform their task in a well-defined manner. If the workers would be trained properly, they will be able to carry the task in a positive manner. Demonstrations regarding safety procedures and precautions shall be explained in the orientation this will pro vide awareness amongst the workers (Ambardar, 2015). Lastly, it shall be taken into consideration that occupational health and safety is referred to as team effort. Both employers along with workers are responsible for the same. Occupational health safety (OHS) is inter linked between employer, employee the government officials. References Akram, O. (2015). Occupational Health, Safety and Extreme Poverty: A Qualitative Perspective from Bangladesh.International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, 4(1). Alli, B. (2008).Fundamental principles of occupational health and safety. Geneva: International Labour Office. Ambardar, A. (2015). Occupational Safety and Health of Laundry Employees in Hotel Industry.International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Systems, 8(1). Balzaretti, C., Marzano, M. and Cattaneo, P. (2009). FOOD SAFETY IN CATERING INDUSTRY.Italian Journal of Food Safety, 1(3), p.41. Ganesh, S. (2011). Issues related to Health Promotional measures at workplace.International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, 1(1). Hasle, P. and Zwetsloot, G. (2011). Editorial: Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems: Issues and challenges.Safety Science, 49(7), pp.961-963. Occupational health. (n.d.). London: BallieÃÅ'â‚ ¬re Tindall. Poirier, D. and Feder, K. (2001).Dangerous places. Westport, Conn.: Bergin Garvey. Qiang, C. and Ki Chow, W. (2007). A Discussion of Occupational Health and Safety Management for the Catering Industry in China.International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 13(3), pp.333-339. Worsfold, D. and Griffith, C. (2003). A survey of food hygiene and safety training in the retail and catering industry.Nutrition Food Science, 33(2), pp.68-79.