2 MINUTE AND ACTION PLAN OF MEETING HELD ON 17 MAY 2012

Transcription

1 DRAFT MINUTE of MEETING of the HEALTH and SAFETY COMMITTEE Board Room, Assynt House Assynt House Beechwood Park Inverness IV2 3BW Tel: Fax: Textphone users can contact us via Typetalk: Tel Highland NHS Board 2 October 2012 Item August am Present In attendance Mr Alasdair Lawton, Chair Ms Elspeth Caithness, Joint Chair Ms Pauline Craw, North Highland CHP (videoconference until 12.15pm) Mr Stephen Davison, SOR Mr Stephen Don - Unite AMICUS section Mrs Anne Gent, Director of Human Resources, Mr Iain King, CSP Mr Gordon Laurie, Assistant Clinical Dental Director Ms Audrey Urquhart, SOCAP Mrs Rosie Brunton, Health and Safety Manager, Raigmore Ms Fiona Campbell, Clinical Governance Manager, Argyll & Bute CHP (videoconference) Mrs Sarah Crawshaw, Moving and Handling Manager Mr Eric Green, Head of Estates Ms Fiona Miller, Health & Safety Manager (by video conference), North & West Highland Operational Unit Ms Margaret Moss on behalf of Gill McVicar, General Manager, North & West Highland Operational Unit Mr Rick Page, Health & Safety Manager, South & Mid Operational Unit Ms Linda Rawlinson, Occupational Health Nurse Manager Mr Brian Robertson, Head of Adult Social Care Mrs Diane Stark, Infection Control Nurse Mr Bob Summers, Head of Health & Safety Mrs Christine Thomson, Board Committee Administrator 1 WELCOME AND APOLOGIES Alasdair Lawton welcomed everyone to the meeting. In particular Brian Robertson Head of Adult Social Care was welcomed to his first meeting of the Committee. Apologies for absence were received from Colin Shields, Una Lyon, Nigel Small, Ken Oates, Nick Kenton, Janette McQuiston, Gill McVicar, Raymond MacDonald and Nigel Small. 1.1 Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest. 2 MINUTE AND ACTION PLAN OF MEETING HELD ON 17 MAY 2012 It was noted that the Minute of the meeting of 17 May 2012 had already been discussed at the Board meeting held on 14 August The minute was proposed by Anne Gent and seconded by Ian King and approved as an accurate record.

2 The Action Plan was noted. 3 MATTERS ARISING 3.1 Lone Working Pilot Update Bob Summers reported that the Lone Working Pilot had now been running for four months. He reminded members of the initial concerns regarding access to personal data, knowledge of the system. He advised that there had been initial set up problems and some staff could not use the system. This took approx. 3-4 weeks to resolve and as such the provider agreed to extend the pilot to 31 August It was noted that a report on the pilot would be submitted to the meeting of the Committee to be held on 15 November Brian Robertson advised that this also affected transferred staff such as social workers and care at home workers and confirmed that he was in the process of procuring a scheduling tool and mobile solution to help the care at home workforce. Noted that a report on progress of the pilot would be submitted to the next meeting of the Committee to be held on 15 November Integrated stores Bob Summers reported that developing integrated stores would benefit from the application of LEAN methodology and it was agreed that Bob Summers and Anne Gent would discuss this further with Linda Kirkland. 3.3 Laundry As regards the laundry, Bob Summers reported that a letter had been issued highlighting the hazards and risks experienced by Laundry staff on a day to day basis. He stressed that luggage tags must be durable, identifiable and traceable back to source. It was noted that there had been some confusion over the tags and it was agreed that the Infection Control Team would to ensure that operational managers were aware of the correct system. Agreed Bob Summers and Anne Gent would discuss the application of the Lean Methodology with Linda Kirkland. Agreed The Infection Control Team would ensure that managers are aware of the correct system for tagging laundry. 4 REPORTS BY OPERATIONAL UNITS 4.1. Verbal updates/ minutes of last operational meetings The Committee received the undernoted minutes/reports from the Operational Units Health and Safety Groups:- (a) Argyll & Bute CHP draft minute of 7 June 2012 (b) Mid Highland CHP draft minute of 7 March

3 (c) North and West Operational Unit Caithness Health & Safety Group draft minute of 29 May 2012 Sutherland Health & Safety Group minute of 30 May 2012 (d) Raigmore minute of 19 July 2012 (e) South and Mid Operational Unit draft minute of 13 June 2012 Argyll & Bute Operational Unit Fiona Campbell advised that the operational meetings were held following the Health & Safety Committee Meeting to ensure that any actions could be taken forward. She advised that discussions had taken place regarding the patient/public representatives on the operational group but that this had not been resolved. Mrs Campbell further advised that a report on Health & Safety staff related incidents had been carried out at the operational group. A detailed report on Violence and Aggression incidents had also been submitted and it was suggested that a rolling agenda with a list of types of incidents may be useful. In addition it was felt that an item entitled Staff Stories may be useful as part of the Health & Safety Committee Agenda. South and Mid Highland Operational Unit Rick Page advised that the adverse weather driver training had been well received and an extension to other areas outwith Inverness was being considered. Feedback had been that some practical training would be useful for example for staff who had to travel after hours. In regards to the South and Mid s skin care programme roll out, it was anticipated that this would be completed by the deadline of 01 January It was also noted that planned fire training was progressing and that Heath & Safety walk rounds were being conducted. North West Highland Operational Unit It was noted that adverse weather driver training had also been booked for Caithness and Sutherland. Concern was expressed regarding the unannounced fire inspection and risk assessment visit. Eric Green advised that the fire policy applies across NHS Highland and that the Scottish Government had intimated that all the fire risk assessments had to be re completed by 31 March He advised that there was no need for the operational manager to accompany the fire risk assessor. Eric Green added that in line with the Boards Fire Safety policy, it was noted that senior managers had been allocated a series of responsibilities and given accountability in writing from the Chief Executive. These responsibilities were to be delegated to locality / area / district / facility managers. They included requirements to; ensure staffing levels for evacuation were adequate, that Emergency Fire Action Plans (EFAP) are in place and tested, that staff and fire marshalls attend and receive all mandatory fire safety training and adequate resources are provided to implement the EFAP. As regards patient areas it was noted that the Board had completed 75% of the ward specific training. Eric Green advised that the programme was on target and that dates of training were now advertised on the intranet but that the training relied on the ability of managers to release staff. It was further noted that fire marshall training has been available since 22 August 2012 but uptake had not been as good as had been anticipated and Eric Green asked Operational Directors to hasten and increase the level of uptake. Fiona Campbell advised that there was only 1 safety adviser in Argyll & Bute who provided that training and that Learnpro was the main source of fire safety training in Argyll & Bute where high risk areas have been targeted. In addition it was noted that the fire safety adviser now worked 3 days per week from Inverness. 3

4 Raigmore Hospital Rosie Brunton advised that the Health & Safety workplan would now be placed on the Health & Safety website and that this would be discussed by Elspeth Caithness and Rosie Brunton. Mrs Brunton advised that staff concerns regarding the use of Actichlor plus had been resolved and that a standard operating procedure was being finalised and would be forwarded to managers. Noted the updates/minutes Issues raised by Health & Safety Representatives Elspeth Caithness advised that a joint staff side meeting had taken place with the union representatives and that there was generally a good understanding of how they fitted in with Operational Units. In addition a paper would be submitted to the Committee to ensure as wide a representation as possible. It was noted that discussion was ongoing to identify Staff Representatives in North and West. It was further noted that there was only one social care representative for UNITE and Elspeth Caithness undertook to identify this person. It was agreed to progress this further and to attempt to ensure that representatives from this group attended the Health & Safety Committee in the future. Noted the updates. 5 ADVISER S REPORTS 5.1 Clinical Governance and Risk Management Bob Summers spoke to Mirian Morrison s circulated report. He reminded the Committee that Clinical Governance Team take the lead for incidents and the Health & Safety Team review the response. He advised that he would be meeting with Louise McInnes, Clinical Governance Team, to establish the most appropriate type of report for the Committee and Safety Groups. In addition Learning & Development had been asked to create training records for the Committee. Bob Summers advised that the report submitted was an update of the dashboard module and sat within DATIX. It was however noted that there was also a requirement to draw some conclusions and actions from the data. Anne Gent confirmed that there was a need to have some sort of dashboard to monitor progress in key areas and that a meeting had taken place recently looking at sources of data, streamlining and completing the dashboard for the operational units. This would provide information regarding incidents which could be linked to sickness and health & well being data, to become more meaningful and establish targets to achieve reductions. The Committee Agreed that a small group be set up to establish performance indicators comprising Philip Walker, Anne Gent, Cathy Steer, Linda Rawlinson and Bob Summers. In addition Bob Summers would contact Mirian Morrison in this respect. 4

5 At this point it was agreed to consider the item on Health & Safety implications of Planning for Integration now Integrating Care in the Highlands. 6 TOPIC SPECIFIC ITEMS 6.1 Health & Safety Implications of Planning for Integration Bob Summers spoke to his circulated report and advised that the purpose was to give the Committee an understanding of the health and safety benefits, implications and impact for NHS Highland, as a result of managing our new risks and merging two Health and Safety Management systems. The paper was based on a number of planning assumptions, and it outlined the main incoming key risks, the work required to mitigate them, an overview of the transitional arrangements so far and an assessment of the resource required to integrate the two safety management systems successfully, whilst continuing to provide the same level of service. It was stressed that the identified impacts and outcomes would change over time and this would result in on-going reprioritisation, as issues were addressed and new ones identified. Three key stages were identified in order to integrate successfully: a planning phase, a rollout and implementation phase and the provision of day to day operational support. However he stressed the latter could not successfully be achieved within the anticipated timeframes, without the appropriate resource transfer and that discussions are ongoing with the Highland Council regarding resource transfer. Anne Gent confirmed that the interim arrangements that had been put in place were not operating satisfactorily and it was agreed that there was a need to work on a permanent solution more quickly than originally anticipated. It was agreed that Michelle Morris and Anne Gent would put together a position statement about the existing arrangements and discuss further with THC. Anne Gent advised that there was recognition that the models of service provision in Highland Council and NHS Highland were different with respect to Health & Safety and confirmed that transferred staff from Adult Social Care should now be utilising and referring the policies of NHS Highland and not the previous employer. Brian Robertson advised the Committee that the regulatory landscape had changed and increased substantially since Integration, in that we now have 2 substantial workstreams to complete by Dec 12 in relation to Moving and Handling and Infection Control. He suggested that a status report should be submitted to the Care Homes Steering Group in order that the implications on managers and staff be noted. Anne Gent confirmed that the process had been challenging and wished to formally record her thanks to all staff for the extra effort which had been put into this. Brian Robertson advised that during the transitional year he still had operational duties for care homes and care at home, but that it was anticipated that care homes could be managed by Operational Units in the near future. Noted that a position statement would be submitted to the Committee in early course. At this stage it was agreed to consider the item on HSE Activity HSE Care Home Moving and Handling Action Plan 6.2 HSE Activity HSE Care Home Moving and Handling Action Plan Bob Summers advised the Committee that the aim of the action plan was to ensure that the organisation met the specific requirements detailed by the Health & Safety Executive relating 5

6 to Moving and Handling compliance by end December It was noted that additional moving and handling training resource had been identified from the care homes to work full time with the NHS Highlands Moving and Handling Team, until the end of 2012 and that NHS Highland would be delivering moving and handling training to all staff in Health and Social Care from the end of August. It was noted that a baseline audit would be completed regarding what training and support required to be put in place. The Committee agreed the proposed action plan whilst noting that it would be challenging to deliver the training in the timescale, but that this would give the care homes and the organisation a sustainable model for the future which would improve patient and staff safety. Bob Summers thanked the committee for their support and suggested that this could be viewed as an acceleration of the integration agenda. As regards infection control Bob Summers advised that the HSE were not satisfied with the original target timescale for staff to be trained infection control. It was noted that Bob Summers and Ken Oates would present a suggested solution to HSE and the implementation plan would be monitored at the Infection Control Committee and Heath & Safety Committee. The Committee Agreed the proposed moving and handling action plan. Brian Robertson and Pauline Craw left the meeting at ADVISER S REPORTS 7.1 Facilities Speaking to his circulated report, Eric Green advised that 108 of the 124 required fire assessments had now been completed and that it was anticipated that these would be finished together with those for the majority of community hospitals by early to mid-october. He advised that new guidance had been issued in respect of Prevention of Pseudomonas in Health Care Premises and that a new water treatment plan would be installed at Raigmore Hospital. He further advised that remedial work was required in operating theatres and that this was being prioritised at present. 7.2 Radiation Protection In the absence of Fraser Brunton, Rosie Brunton highlighted that under item 2 of his submitted adviser s report regarding IRMER compliance, there could be a capacity issue due to a member of staff leaving. 7.3 Infection Control Report The Committee received and noted Diane Stark s circulated report. She advised that the appropriate use of Actichlor had been the main issue to highlight to the Committee. Bob Summers advised that Helen Morrison was pulling together a group regarding infection control training. The Committee was also updated on the infection control issue regarding the norovirus outbreak both at Raigmore and Caithness General. Bob Summers advised that a meeting would take place shortly regarding care home procedures and policies. 6

7 7.4 Occupational Health Speaking to her circulated report Linda Rawlinson advised that the main issue was finalising the arrangements for the transfer of Occupational Health resource from the Highland Council to NHS Highland so that NHS Highland could move to provide a service for transferred staff and it was noted that this would be considered further outwith the meeting. The Committee Noted the reports, the issues identified and the actions being taken. 8 TOPIC SPECIFC ITEMS 8.1 Revised Role and Remit of Health & Safety Committee Anne Gent spoke to the circulated revised Role and Remit of the Committee. She highlighted the amendments made to the document and advised that outstanding matters which remained to be discussed, included the role of the Chief Operating Officer, public membership on the Committee and the possible inclusion of a staff story section. The Committee Agreed to remit to Anne Gent and Bob Summers to finalise the Role and Remit once the matters identified had been clarified. 8.2 Revised Health & Safety Policy Speaking to his circulated report, Bob Summers advised that further discussions and decisions would be required in respect of roles and responsibilities and operational governance arrangements. It was noted that a more consistent approach to operational arrangements than had existed previously was required and it was agreed that further discussion would take place between Bob Summers, Gill Vicar and Nigel Small The Committee Agreed that further discussions regarding operational governance arrangements take place and that a further update be submitted to the meeting of the committee to be held on 15 November Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Draft COSHH procedure Bob Summers advised the Committee that he had hoped to have NHS Highland s revised DRAFT COSHH procedure available for comment at the Workforce Hazards Group in Oct 12 and the Health & Safety Committee in Nov 12. He advised that duties for implementing COSHH and managing hazardous substances, including biological agents, is applicable across the entire organisation and involved with Infection Control, Health and Safety and Occupational Health. A computerised system named Sypol was being used to record all aspects of COSHH. He advised that the procedure would be circulated on completion for comments and final agreement Update on Dermatitis Programme Bob Summers spoke to his circulated report on the dermatitis programme. He advised that he had written to all Directors of Operations with clear guidance on the requirements for implementation, which included identifying those involved in wet work and identifying both a 7

8 responsible person and deputy to obtain appropriate training through Learnpro. It was noted that the operational units would give an update on progress with the programme at the meeting of the Committee to be held on 15 November Workplace Hazards Plan Bob Summers spoke to his circulated update of the Workforce Hazards Plan highlighting areas of concern. Agreed that the COSHH procedure would be circulated on completion to the Workforce Hazards Group and the Health & Safety Committee and that the completed procedure would be submitted to the next meeting of the Health & Safety Committee to be held on 15 November Agreed that an update on Operational Unit progress with the dermatitis programme be submitted to the next meeting of the Committee to be held on 15 November Noted the update of the Workforce Hazards Plan. 8.4 Role and Remit of Medical Gases Group Rosie Brunton spoke to her circulated report on the Role and Remit of the Medical Gases Group highlighting that Peter Mutton, Head of Specialist Pharmaceutical Services would be Chair of the Group and that he had already issued invitations to the first meeting which it was hoped would take place in October/November The Committee Approved the Role and Remit of the Medical Gases Group as circulated. 8.5 Revised Staff Governance Standards A link to the revised Staff Governance Standards had been circulated. The Committee would take on responsibility for the governance on the fifth strand provided with a continuously improving and safe working environment, promoting the health and wellbeing of staff, patients and the wider community. The Committee Agreed that the implications for staff would be considered at the next meeting of the Committee to be held on15 November Management of Contractors Policy and Site Rules Policy Eric Green reported that the Management of Contractors Policy and Site Rules Policy were now complete and that discussions were taking place regarding how the implementation of this policy across NHS Highland. The Estates Department had purchased a web-based system known as GEMsoft7 that controls the authorisation and issuing of work orders to contractors. It also supports a web-based permit-to-work system that records the nature of the work, the methods being used; the staff/contractors deployed and ensures that Health & Safety and authorisation processes are followed. A full audit trail for each job is provided, allowing management inspection/review at any time. This will help streamline communication between Estates management, staff and contractors. Rollout will commence in mid Sep 12. The system will be rollout to other departments who can purchase contract services, once the system is up and running and working well within Estates. 8

9 Agreed that the GEMsoft7 pilot take place in Estates at Raigmore Hospital prior to Christmas and that this be rolled out to other areas in Agreed that an update on rollout and implementation progress be submitted to the next meeting of the Committee to be held on 15 November Safe and Well at Work: Occupational Health and Safety Strategic Framework for NHS Scotland Speaking to the circulated progress report, Anne Gent highlighted the four key areas which were all part of the Strategic Implementation Plan, these being mental health, violence and aggression, slips trips and falls, and musculo-skeletal injuries. She suggested that these be incorporated in to the Role and Remit to highlight each of these topics over the next year commencing with consideration of Mental Health at the meeting to be held in November Noted the progress report. Agreed that the four key areas be incorporated into the Role and Remit for consideration over the forthcoming year. 9 ANY OTHER COMPETENT BUSINESS 9.1 Restraint procedure Bob Summers reminded members of tpn07.01 Restraint Procedure which had been submitted to the last meeting of the Committee. He advised that the procedure had been circulated to Operational Groups and no further comments had been made and it was confirmed that the policy had therefore been ratified and agreed. This would be published on the Intranet and supported by a Staff Announcement shortly. 9.2 Fee for Intervention Bob Summers reported that the HSE Fee for Intervention Scheme would be enacted and commence on or around 1 October He advised the HSE would apply charges from the 01 Oct for what is termed a material health and safety breach e.g. a situation in where the HSE has to write to an organisation for a breach of legislation. He explained that this could potentially result in significant additional costs to Operational Units. Noted the HSE Fee for Intervention Scheme Agreed that any such bills received be scrutinised by the Senior Management Team. 9.3 Review of RIDDOR Bob Summers reported that there was still confusion over RIDDOR and that the approved Code of Practice has been withdrawn. He advised that updated guidance would be available in

10 10 DATE AND VENUE OF NEXT MEETING The next meeting of the Health and Safety Committee will be held on Thursday 15 November 2012 at 10.30am in the Board room Assynt House. The meeting closed at 1.00 pm 10