IOSH’s new ‘Healthcare: risk and safety management’ training programme was
launched last month at King’s College Hospital in London by the minister of
state for health, John Hutton.
The course, which has been produced in response to the concerns raised in
the National Audit Office’s report of May 2003, has been put together by Rob
Davies, of the University of Wales College of Medicine, in association with
IOSH.
The course covers issues high on the national agenda including: violence and
aggression, infection control, governance, manual handling and risk assessment.
At the launch, Hutton said: "I think this is a very important new
initiative for the healthcare industry. The number of accidents and sickness
rates due to work are falling, but they are still high. This course will be
crucial in reducing further the rates of sickness and the number of accidents
we have in the industry."
IOSH chief executive Rob Strange said: "The National Audit Office
report identified several areas including the lack of processes and minimum
standards of health and safety for staff.
"This course has been specifically designed and developed for the
healthcare sector and we firmly believe the package will fulfil a crucial need
in the sector."
Some of the situations that course participants will be asked to consider
are drawn from real-life scenarios, while the syllabus offers the flexibility
for different organisations to customise the programme to suit their own
particular needs.
Demand to attend the launch was so high that further seminars will be held,
including one at IOSH’s Wigston base in March.
For further information contact Nichola Mills on 0116 257 3186 or e-mail [email protected]
