Riskology

There’s no doubt that managing occupational health and safety (OHS) is challenging in any workplace—but the aged care sector presents a series of unique circumstances that require prompt and effective management for compliance. 

With staff working around the clock with residents who have various levels of care needs, a robust and flexible cloud-based health and safety management system for reporting and risk management is a must. 

So, if it’s time to replace your existing system that is underperforming, or if you’re ready to set up new software that can better handle your specific needs, we’ve put together some tips on the key features of the right health and safety management system to improve OHS outcomes in aged care.

Reporting hazards

Any hazards in an aged care setting must be dealt with swiftly as there is the potential for serious harm and injury in the case of slips or falls for elderly clients in particular. Software that includes a dedicated hazard reporting module allows you to quickly and easily log any hazards and assign them to a staff member or contractor, so they can be dealt with promptly by the right person. In addition, you’ll have the ability to search records to identify patterns in hazards occurring and set reminders to follow-up to make sure any hazards are removed and signed off within a reasonable time frame.

Risk assessments

These days, every business should be completing a regular and detailed risk assessment to identify potential disruptions, hazards and other areas of concern before they are allowed to have a negative impact. In aged care this is vital, as interruptions to care and hazards in the workplace can potentially be life-threatening. A system that allows for fast and simple logging of potential risks and the measures put in place to to minimise them, means employees and management are more likely to keep on top of their risk assessment obligations and actively monitor and update them, rather than putting it in the “too hard” basket.

Incidents and near miss reporting

Aged care providers need to keep detailed and up-to-date records of any incidents and near miss occurrences not only for compliance and reporting, but more importantly to provide the right level of care to their clients. Where the information can be easily logged and accessed as needed, you’re more likely to have data available to inform care decisions. You can view history, track patterns and assign action as needed with a few clicks, as well as provide family members and allied health professionals with a more complete picture of patient history. 

Shared access

With multiple staff working across rotating shifts, shared access to software is essential, particularly for management in the case of an after hours incident, or where they are working remotely off site. This is useful for situations that require an immediate response, but also for planning and assessments.

Reporting to management

In situations where regular reporting for compliance is required, accurate and effective data management is critical. With the right health and safety management software you can set up your system to generate reports that contain the exact information you need to provide management and stakeholder updates and to demonstrate compliance as required.

A safer and more efficient aged care environment

The right software system will dramatically improve aged care OHS outcomes and workplace efficiency. Not only will you have detailed data on incidents that have occurred to facilitate improved care and better reporting, you’ll also have a dynamic risk assessment plan that will minimise the chance of future hazards and service interruptions of occurring in the future—and this can only be a good thing for your employees, residents and stakeholders.

If you’d like to discover how our health and safety management software can improve the OHS in your aged care setting, get in touch with our friendly team today on 03 9918 0050 to find out more.