Safety comes first

The Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) has called on aged care employers across the country to do more to ensure that nurses are guaranteed safer working environments.
 
The call was made on the first day of National Safe Work Australia Week, which begun yesterday and runs until Sunday 31 October.

The ANF said that nurses currently suffer from a wide range of work place hazards including back and muscular, needles and sharps injury and high levels of stress.

ANF assistant federal secretary, Yvonne Chaperon, highlighted the need for employers to increase the awareness of safety issues faced by nurses on the job. 

“Nurses continue to experience a high number of occupational injuries,” Ms Chaperon said.

“Employers must proactively ensure that the workplace is safe, consulting with the nursing staff so that any issues are quickly resolved.

“Many nurses who are hurt are consequently unable to work following that injury – this is bad news for everyone.

“This includes needle stick or sharp injuries and slowly developed injuries such as workplace stress, often caused by unmanageable workloads, and back injury though unsafe lifting techniques.”

“There is no excuse for an unsafe workplace and the ANF will be working hard to ensure nurses are protected.”

Safe Work Australia Chair, Tom Phillips AM, stressed that employers need not necessarily wait until National Safe Work Australia Week each year to promote safety in the workplace. Instead, the week acts as merely a reminder of what they should be doing year-round. 

“More than 260 Australians die as a result of work related injuries and over 135 000 are seriously injured every year,” Mr Phillips said.

“National Safe Work Australia Week reminds us all that safety in the workplace is a country-wide priority.

“The simple philosophy of there being no excuse for any accident can only be upheld if everyone has a strong commitment to workplace safety.

For more information on National Safe Work Australia Week, click here.