HEALTH & SAFETY
Health And Safety At The Heart
One of the UK’s best known and most respected charities, Marie Curie, requires the facilities managers at its nine hospices to hold a health and safety qualification – the NEBOSH General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety. Here, Claire Guise, the charity’s Health and Safety Manager, tells us why.
Given the nature of our work and the wide range of fundraising activities needed to fund the care that Marie Curie provides to people with terminal illness, health and safety is of fundamental importance to us. Charities are no different to any other organisation when it comes to health and safety compliance and it’s something our Executive Committee takes very seriously.
There are two key drivers behind the Committee’s decision to make health and safety training mandatory for our facilities managers. Firstly, it’s about ensuring patient safety, and secondly it’s about the safety of our staff and volunteers. If we look aſter them, that can only have a positive impact on how they then focus on the safety and welfare of our patients and their families. It’s what lies at the centre of our organisation’s strategy: ‘People at our Heart’.
“Health and safety isn’t seen as a barrier to doing anything here which is really important to us.”
A charity like ours, which encompasses a network of hospices as well as around 180 charity shops and a multitude of fundraising events, has some very complex health and safety challenges that our team of managers need to address. For example, preparing for a fire evacuation is a key part of the role. If a fire alarm goes off, we can’t just rush all our patients outside because of the nature of their illnesses and the fact that they may be at the end of their lives. So we have to consider the best way to manage patient evacuation in each of our properties, which includes planning activities such as fire training and practice drills.
We also have nurses who treat patients in their own homes at all times of the day and night. They have to deal with a range of terminal diagnosis including terminal cancer, dementia and Parkinson’s as well as patients’ families who can be in very difficult and emotional situations. These circumstances need careful management so it’s vital that we keep our nurses and healthcare assistants safe and make sure that we look aſter them both physically and mentally. Good health and safety management plays a key role in this.
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Then, of course, there are all the wild and creative ideas that our fundraising team comes up with! It’s imperative that health and safety is seen as enabling the fun and sometimes crazy activities rather than getting in the way – we don’t want to stop anyone from raising money for the charity. Taking the integrated approach to health and safety that the NEBOSH qualifications encourage really helps us to get these things right.
Since our facilities managers have taken the National General Certificate, I’ve noticed that they’re a lot more confident about fulfilling the health and safety requirements, which are an important element of their role. The qualification has given them a level of understanding that enables them to answer any questions that crop up. For example, they now understand the background to the COSHH Regulations, they understand the law itself and they understand the practicalities of a risk assessment. As a result, the health and safety culture of our organisation has really been enhanced.
Health and safety isn’t seen as a barrier to doing anything here which is really important to us. We’ve had weddings at our hospices, artworks have been created, and all kinds of weird and wonderful activities take place. This not only raises funds for Marie Curie but also makes the time our patients spend with us really special. Having a positive health and safety culture in place, supported right from the very top of the organisation helps make that happen.
www.nebosh.org.uk www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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