Health & safety

Stress
Excessive levels of stress at work can lead to serious health problems, as well as increasing the risk of accidents. Reducing stress at work is part of the employer's duty of care to provide a safe and healthy workplace. » more

General OHS
General OHS news plus guides for nurses, union representatives, supervisors and managers including our Occupational Health And Safety Essentials For Nurses and Workers Compensation Essentials For Nurses - both available for download as PDFs. » more

Heat
Though hot conditions may be uncomfortable, they are not necessarily a health and safety issue - it depends on just how hot and humid it is, the air flow rates, your clothing, your health and conditioning to heat, and how physically demanding your work is. To determine whether the heat is an OHS issue, your employer should carry out a risk assessment as required by the OHS Regulation 2001. » more

Nurse Safety
In the last few years a zero-tolerance policy to violence, and extra funding for security has meant cameras, lights, locks and alarms are now a ubiquitous feature of most hospitals. Yet security problems not only arise from outside intruders to hospitals - but often from the patients and relatives within. » more

Bullying
Bullying is a serious health and safety hazard. Most bullying is not so obvious - bossing people around, intimidating or threatening them, or keeping them under constant work and time pressure. It is estimated that 350,000 people are subjected to long term bullying in Australia, while 2.5 million experience some aspect of bullying over the course of their working lives. » more

Nurse Health
The OHS challenge for nurses is to further improve work practices to ensure that nurses do not risk their life making a living. » more