Healthcare Industry
WHS Expert Witness
Independent expert opinion on healthcare WHS matters including hospitals, aged care and community care. Patient handling and manual handling injuries, occupational violence, sharps injury, psychosocial hazards and healthcare-specific WHS obligations.
Healthcare Industry Expert Witness Scope
Healthcare and aged care workers experience some of the highest rates of workplace injury of any industry in Australia. Patient handling injuries, occupational violence and aggression from patients and visitors, psychosocial hazards from emotionally demanding work, and sharps injuries from inadequate safe sharps systems are consistent sources of serious workplace injury in this sector.
The expert witness role in healthcare matters is to assess whether the employer's WHS management systems were adequate for the specific hazards of the healthcare environment, whether the controls implemented met the standard required by the applicable WHS legislation and codes of practice, and whether any failure in those systems contributed to the injury suffered.
Karim Ali provides expert opinion on healthcare industry WHS matters for plaintiff and defendant solicitors and insurers in workers' compensation and public liability proceedings. Instructions are accepted in matters involving hospitals, day surgery facilities, aged care facilities and community care environments.
Aged Care and Nursing WHS Challenges
Aged care and nursing present distinctive WHS challenges. The patient or resident is the load being handled and is not predictable. Residents may have limited mobility, unpredictable behaviour or medical conditions that increase the complexity and risk of care tasks. Manual handling, falls prevention, skin integrity and occupational violence are the primary hazard categories in aged care.
The analysis in aged care matters assesses whether patient handling equipment was available and appropriate for the residents being cared for, whether pre-task patient assessments were conducted, whether staffing levels were adequate for the care required and whether workers received specific training for the residents in their care.
See the manual handling expert and psychosocial hazards expert pages for detailed analysis applicable to healthcare matters.
Healthcare-Specific WHS Obligations
The expert analysis in healthcare matters addresses the specific hazards and obligations of the healthcare environment, including patient handling, occupational violence and infection control requirements.
-
Patient Handling and Manual Handling
Assessment of patient handling procedures, availability of mechanical patient lifting and transfer equipment, pre-task patient assessments, staffing ratios for manual care tasks, and whether workers were trained specifically in safe patient handling for the patients in their care. Patient handling injuries are the most common serious injury type in healthcare.
-
Occupational Violence and Aggression
Assessment of whether the employer had an occupational violence and aggression policy and management system, whether risk assessments were conducted for work areas with known violence risk, whether workers were trained in de-escalation and safe response to aggression and whether incidents were investigated and patterns of aggression were addressed.
-
Sharps Injury and Infection Control
Assessment of whether safe sharps systems were in place and used correctly, whether disposal containers were appropriately located and not over-filled, whether workers were trained in safe sharps handling and whether personal protective equipment for infection control was provided, maintained and used for tasks with biological hazard exposure.
-
Psychosocial Hazards in Healthcare
Healthcare workers face elevated psychosocial hazard exposure from emotionally demanding work, traumatic events, high workload and limited control. Assessment addresses whether the employer had a psychosocial risk management system, whether the demands of the work were assessed and managed, and whether support was available to workers following traumatic patient care events.
Instruct on a Healthcare Matter
Contact Karim Ali to discuss the matter, confirm availability and obtain a fee estimate.