Occupational Health and safety assignment #1 PDF

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A comparison between Sunnybrook hospital's health and safety policy and what is mandated...

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OH&S practices of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center (Assignment 1)

by Ranjith Ramesh- 101279261 Joyce Kabatakaka -101365070 Tobby Tam- 101384395

Presented to Professor Osaro Igbinomwanhia HRM 4013 Occupational Health and Safety

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Introduction Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center or Sunnybrook Hospital is a Toronto based teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto. It has the largest trauma center with over 1.3 million patients visiting every year. Hospitals generally are the largest employers in the health sector and Sunnybrook especially consists of over 10,000 employees. With so many employees providing numerous services, the healthcare workers can face a wide range of hazards on the job including sharps injuries, chemical and drug exposure, latex allergies, Covid-19 breakouts, stress, workplace violence etc. It is imperative for the management to provide a safe workplace to all these employees to provide for the public. In this paper, we are going to discuss and analyze how Sunnybrook manages to protect their employees and how they implement their Occupational Health and Safety policies as well as program and how they adhere to the regulations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Policy Analysis The following sections will analyze the effectiveness of the Sunnybrook Health of Science Center’s occupational health and safety policy. A comparative analysis will determine the degree to which the policy statement and program deviate or is in accordance with the federal labor codes. All policies relevant to OH&S are linked to the OH&S program under an appropriate heading in alphabetical order. Sunnybrook’s Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) reviews all policies before they are established, and reviews proposed amendments and provides necessary recommendations. Each policy has 6 sections beginning with its title card. This section provides the read with information that identifies the policy such as title, policy number, date created, date reviewed, date revised, department issued by, and department approved from. The second section is the policy statement itself; it consists of an overview of the policy. This is followed by Definitions, here technical and uncommon terms are described, the fourth section is Procedure, where we can find a detailed step by step instruction to follow if the specific policy is being applied. A ‘Stakeholder’ section lists all the parties affected by the policy. This page ends with a reference section for those who want to investigate the policy further.

Policy Strengths Strength #1 Easy to understand - The policies are structured well with each one of them following a specific format, consistently. The meanings of technical and uncommon words that are used in the statement policy is clarified in the following section under ‘Definitions’ to avoid any sort of misunderstanding. The ‘Procedure’ section gives the reader a step-by-step instruction method to follow and apply the policy. This aligns with the requirement of the CCOHS wanting all policies to be clearly stated so it can be understood by all. 2

Strength #2 Includes senior management- Each policy includes and emphasizes the importance of the supervisor and manager’s responsibilities and importance when complying with policies of any kind. The involvement and requirements of the higher management team allow for further clarity with which the organization can identify appropriate responsibilities and expertise over authority. Management and the appropriate members of the joint occupational health and safety committee who are certified may perform duties and provide clarity and consistency when operating in an efficient manner. Policy Weaknesses Strength # 1 Even though the information present in every policy statement is clear and concise, it is not communicated well. An employee will not be aware of a specific policy unless he/she looks for it in the company portal which is present amongst other numerous policies. The policies are also not signed by the CEO or President as required by the CCOHS but is instead signed off by the pertinent department. Information regarding new policies is emailed to all the employees as they are established as required by the CCOHS, this is good for the current employees but employees who newly join the organization after a policy is made, miss out on these important emails. There is also a lack of information on whether the information present regarding a policy is up to date. Strength #2 Although this manual consists of many policies, the policies may not be as effective due to the inaccessibility and lack of communication of the manual between internal and external stakeholders. An employee who must contact another site or hospital for example is only given information and procedures to contact said locations and nothing more. The policy procedure tends to stop midway and only list steps that are taken place within Sunnybrook specifically, thus leaving ambiguity on what to say or has the site number been called. It also doesn’t state who you are contacting exactly (you are only given the site name) and whether you must request a supervisor/manager or whether whichever department you are calling. Lastly, once a phone call is made, the policy procedure does not follow up on whether an investigation is concluded with the original direct supervisor or whether the contacted individual will complete the open case. Program Analysis The Sunnybrook program encompasses the basic elements that are in accordance with the CCOHS, including first aid, individual responsibilities, joint and occupational health and safety committees, health and safety rules and correct work procedures, reporting, and investigating incidents, workplace inspection, safe work procedures (Feb,2022). Their program is very specific to its industry thus provides specific topics. After reviewing the Sunnybrook hospital’s health and safety program, we have identified strengths and weaknesses. 3

Program Strengths Strength #1 Exposure to Blood or Body fluids (Including Needle-sticks) The program is specific to its industry in which it outlines a plan of action designed to prevent diseases and outbreaks. The level of detail regarding this program outlines the different ways in which employees can protect themselves and others. According to section 33 of the Ontario Occupational Health and safety act it outlines numerous measures which should be taken by the employer in reporting and administering work practices that will protect employees. Sunnybrook hospital meets these standards. In addition, the program provides an outline of who to report to in the event of an exposure, which accounts for the individual responsibility of employees, supervisors, and managers. Further, this section of the program outlines safe work procedures to ensure the health and safety of employees, supervisors, managers, and patients. According to Sunnybrook’s OHS manual employees are required to get their flu shots as it is an effective way to prevent an outbreak within the hospital (Appendix A). Additionally, employees who are in direct contact with patients are required to undergo fit testing for N95 mask and a half-face respirator (Appendix B). According to section 25 of the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety act it outlines the responsibilities of employers and reassures them that they are providing employees with the equipment needed. Therefore, this section speaks to the detail emphasizes to protect everyone in the vicinity. Strengths #2 Violence Prevention Program Sunnybrook has a commitment to proactively prevent violent incidents in the workplace that can be utilized for interactions among employees and interactions with patients. The program provides strategies employees should use when dealing with potentially violent patients as a way of de- escalating the situation (Appendix C). The program is in accordance with section 32.0.5 of the OOHS act in which the employer should provide employees with instructions as to how to act. Furthermore, if an employee gets injured the program provides an outline of what employees are expected to do. This program identifies who to inform and the ways in which employees can inform their injury based on severity of the injury, thus provides different pager numbers in accordance with the injury. This section is in accordance with the OOHS act; therefore, it is a definitive strength of the Sunnybrook’s OHS program.

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Program Weaknesses Weakness #1 Organization of the content Some of the shortcomings of the program are based on how the program is organized. According to the CCOHS, employees have the right to know about important information as it relates to their safety (Feb,2022). Within Sunnybrook’s program there are links to other external sources that provide information on certain guidelines. For example, in the preservation of wreckage (Appendix D), there is an external link titled critical injury instead of having the information all in one page. Similarly, in the Hazard reporting/Employee hazard reports (Appendix E) there is also an external link titled Hazard: Identification & Reporting policy. This poses a potential issue in terms of navigating through the program. Weakness # 2 Orientation Program Another shortcoming of the program relates to the orientation program in which it fails to identify essential elements. The program fails to identify the location of said potential hazardous materials. Although it provides employees the information on who to report to, it fails to explain the specific areas of the hospital in which employees can be potentially exposed to some hazardous materials. Additionally, the program fails to establish an emergency evacuation program. According to the CCOHS employers must have an evacuation plan and explain the evacuation signals and procedures (Feb,2022). This poses a safety hazard for employees in the event of an evacuation, which is essential to employees in the vicinity.

Improvements Improvement # 1 The OH&S program overall is an extensive document. Though the extensivity of the document is justified considering the importance of it in a hospital setting, and the vastness of the topics it covers, it must be organized in a simpler fashion. Employees looking at it for the first time can get overwhelmed and distracted by the sheer volume of the document. In an emergency, going through the entire document to find a single piece of crucial information would be counterproductive. A suggestion to rectify this drawback would be to lessen the number of external links the program document leads to. None of the policies are present in the same document as the program. To access every policy and program, the employee needs to enter the work credentials which is not only unnecessary but also time consuming. If making the policies to be a part of the program is not feasible, crucial time can be saved by providing a direct link to the policy to anyone who clicks on it without the use of credentials, this will not cause confidentiality issues and will in fact make the policy creator to be more precise while creating them.

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Improvement #2 Every policy and program places great importance to emphasize the role of the supervisor or manager. It is important because it allows all stakeholders to identify who exactly is trained and certified with the appropriate safety procedure knowledge. They must be present and are able to ensure procedures are executed efficiently. It is recommended that if certain procedures involve multiple parties, it should elaborate on further safety procedures and accountability rather than only providing steps towards whom to contact for further assistance. As most policies require the contact of someone who holds a JOHSC certification, procedures do not go beyond the accountability anticipated. It does not list responsibilities that fall upon the individual who is called, the employee involved who had to make the call and the supervisor/manager. Though the responsibilities of each stakeholder are listed at the beginning of the manual, it would be appropriate and more concise to also include each stakeholder’s specific responsibilities (if applicable). Improvement #3 In terms of the organization of the program it is recommended that the program is reorganized by having all the information in one document. This will allow employees to navigate easier through each program. As for the missing elements such as the emergency evacuation plan and the location of hazardous materials, it is recommended that employers should design an evacuation plan in which employees can adhere to and keep them safe. Additionally, each location where hazardous materials are kept should be listed. This will enable employees to stay informed on the appropriate PPE as they enter an area when the specified hazardous material is located.

Conclusion Overall, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center’s occupational health and safety program and the underlying policies are impressive, as they should be, being a prominent part of Toronto’s healthcare system. The established program and policies are aligned with the organization’s mission which is to invent the future of healthcare. Our analysis pinpoints minor inadequacies in their best practices which when rectified can make their practices exemplary for other hospitals to implement as well.

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References Employee Orientation Checklist: OSH Answers. (n.d.). Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. Retrieved February 19, 2022, from https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/orientation.html Law Document English View. (2018b, November 19). Ontario.Ca. Retrieved February 19, 2022, from https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90o01 Occupational Health and Safety Manual for Management and Staff 2021 Retrieved February 18, 2021https://georgebrowncollege.sharepoint.com/:b:/s/Occ.HealthGroup/EYDygH6eZklM m_jZllgHugIBdEYlMVOgFHrBFUq3owNQiA?e=iK5zOi OH&S Legislation in Canada - Three Rights of Workers : OSH Answers. (n.d.). Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. Retrieved February 18, 2022, from https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/legisl/three_rights.html OH&S Program - General Elements : OSH Answers. (n.d.). Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. Retrieved February 18, 2022, from https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/hsprograms/basic.html

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Appendix Appendix- A

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Appendix –B

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Appendix- C

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Appendix- D

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Appendix- E

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