News

This month’s news

Proactive approach urged to cut sick toll

The Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has produced a free guidance
document for health and safety professionals on how to be more proactive in
reducing work-related ill health and sickness absence. Professionals In
Partnership can be downloaded from the IoSH website www.iosh.co.uk

Building dangers

The HSE has identified some 40 fundamental influences on the construction
sector that can lead to accidents. These include the fact that falls are the
major cause of fatalities. The research can be downloaded from the HSE website www.hse.gov.uk

Avoiding stress

New guidance for small firms on preventing work-related stress has been
published by the Health and Safety Executive. Work-Related Stress: A Short
Guide can be ordered online www.hsebooks.co.uk

Time pressures

Lack of time is the single greatest source of stress for people in their
daily working lives, according to a recent survey for the charity Talking Life.
Stress trainer Martin Davies said other pet hates included constant
interruptions, demanding customers, increasing paperwork and people arriving late
for meetings.

Catering guidance

A free information sheet has been put together by the Health and Safety
Executive aimed at helping employers in the catering industry to ensure young
people are safe at work. Information Sheet 21 outlines legal duties and
describes how to apply them in practice. It can be ordered online at www.hsebooks.co.uk

Mental well-being

The Health and Safety Executive has relaunched its resource pack for
employers on mental well-being in the workplace. The pack, originally put
together in 1998, was reissued to coincide with November’s National Stress
Awareness Day. Order it online at www.hsebooks.co.uk

Gas safety

A project designed to reduce the number of carbon monoxide incidents
associated with piped gas has been launched by the Health and Safety Executive.
Around 25 to 30 people die each year from severe carbon monoxide poisoning.

Nurses’ skills can take them far

You need to be a risk-taker to achieve your dreams, said Sally Meekin, who
gave the Mary Blakely lecture at the conference. Meekin, an OH nurse, has
achieved her dream by setting up a health and lifestyle centre in Northern
Ireland.Meekin outlined the valuable skills and characteristics that nurses can
bring to a new role as entrepreneur.

Human Rights Act

The Human Rights Act has not had as big an impact as expected, according to
Chris Cox, assistant director of legal services at the RCN. The explosion in
litigation that was widely predicted has largely failed to materialise, he
said, and the courts have adopted an unduly narrow and conservative approach.

Upper limb assessment

The development of an upper limb assessment was the theme of a presentation
by Gael Somerville, an OH nurse at the BBC, London. The project involved the
development of a comprehensive, evidence-based assessment that could be
recorded electronically. The new assessment was rated significantly better by
users than the previous assessment.

Bullying tackled

The use of cognitive behavioural therapy to tackle bullying in the workplace
was explained by Alan Dovey, clinical lecturer at the University of Birmingham.
His research involves interviews with clinical nurses and managers in the NHS.