Health and Safety Responsibilities
The NES Director of Workforce has been appointed as the NES director level Health and Safety champion to co-ordinate and ensure that the management of health and safety objectives are an integral part of NES activities and also to ensure the continuous improvement in health and safety management and performance programmes.
NES has engaged a Health and Safety Advisor as the organisation “competent person” under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations to support the management team and staff by providing health and safety management advice and assistance. The Health and Safety Advisor can be contacted on bob.mcdonnell@nes.scot.nhs.uk
While it is a principle duty of all Directors, Heads of Departments, Senior Managers and Line Managers/Clinical Supervisors to actively maintain and improve the health, safety and wellbeing of all persons in their area of accountability, success in achieving this goal, and maintaining appropriate standards of health and safety, can only be achieved through full consultation and co-operation and commitment from all concerned.
The NES Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee provides the forum for consultation on health and safety issues. Should a GP Trainee wish to raise an issue a communication should be sent to the committee chair (i.e. Director of Workforce) who can be contacted on dorothy.wright@nes.scot.nhs.uk
Employees are required to co-operate with the NES health and safety policy and procedures and the employees duties identified in the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
Health and safety duties for GP trainees are detailed below.
- Take reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and other persons (including members of the public) who may foreseeably be affected by their acts or omissions at work;
- Co-operate with their Line Managers/Clinical Supervisors or any other person, (e.g. contractors working on site) to enable duties or requirements imposed on them by statute to be complied with to the required standard. This requires the employees to follow established safe systems of work and any verbal work instructions given by their immediate Line manager/clinical supervisor;
- Not to intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided for the purpose of health, safety and welfare in pursuance of a statutory requirement;
- Not to use machinery, equipment, substances, transport equipment or other means of production or safety device except in conformity with training and instruction provided by NES;
- Reporting accidents and near misses and co-operating in their investigation, in order that remedial actions can be developed to prevent a recurrence;
- Notifying their Line manager/clinical supervisor of any work situation of which they become aware that has the potential for serious and imminent danger to health and safety;
- Notifying their Line manager/clinical supervisor of any shortcomings in protective measures of which they become aware.
This can be obtained through local management or from the local health and safety noticeboard.