Worker Safety Case Study
Worker safety is an increasing issue with the change in the structure of our society. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (2004, p. 6) states, "Health care and social service workers face an increased risk of work-related assaults." This can include "violence by strangers, customers or clients, coworkers, and personal relations (Kolupski, 2016a). Social worker 's safety is a concern in the facility and out in the field. In an effort to prevent violence in the workplace, there are steps organizations must take to ensure the safety of all involved. Being able to recognize dangerous situations to include client signals, environmental signs, and internal signals, are important to continue to provide inclusive
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5), the number and variety of people and the setting in which services are provided, increases the risk for social workers that often have to provide these services in places that are unsafe to the worker. Social workers have to be vigilant in assessing their surroundings and interactions that can lead to violence. There are several ways to increase your staff 's awareness of safety. All service agencies have staff meetings, this is a great time to review safety protocols and provide the opportunity for staff to ask questions and express their safety concerns. Develop and implement an incident reporting system to document and track instances of threats, acts of violence, damage to property, and disseminate information about safety risk, on a regular basis (National Association of Social Workers, 2013). Posting signs in breakrooms to reinforce safety protocols in the office and the field will help in keeping safety at the forefront. Creating a checklist that staff follows when meeting with clients in the office and in the field, will create an environment of constant awareness and having a whistleblower policy protects workers if the incident occurred by a staff member. Having regular safety trainings will ensure that safety protocols are implemented, updated and practiced regularly. In addition, require a specified number of in-service training hours to be completed yearly, that covers issues …show more content…
22) states, procedures implemented after an incident, is important in the prevention of future occurrences. They explain the purpose of the investigation is to identify the "root cause" behind the incident. Steps implemented by the agency includes providing emergency care and psychological evaluation for all assaults that take place, trauma-crisis counseling, and incident stress debriefing. Once the social worker needs have been met, then an investigation into the incident precedes with notifying the organization and the authorities, involving workers in the investigation, collecting and reviewing other information through means of records regarding trainings, inspections, audits, and/or past incident reports. Following these guidelines, requiring all workers to report any form of violence or threats immediately, and keeping records will assist with future planning during safety
Participating in the Mandated Reporter Training is a helpful tool for understanding the role of a social worker as a professional if and when one learns information concerning abuse of a minor. The goal of a social worker is to improve the quality of life for all individuals and if one learns about any type of abuse-physical, sexual, emotional, and/or neglect- it is their responsibility to bring this information to the proper authorities. The training stated that, “Research has shown that when multidisciplinary protocols are followed arrest and prosecution rates increase and trauma to the child decreases” (Arizona Child Abuse Info Center).
As a Child Protective worker, my responsibilities are to assess safety (immediate), risk (future harm), abuse and maltreatment, and make a determination as to whether a child is safe or at risk of future harm and assess the need for services. The child welfare worker assigned to investigate the case failed to ensure the above. Works Cited Downs-Whitelaw, S., Moore, E., & McFadden, E. J. (2009). The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'.
These are the values that all social service workers must follow. I feel that the most important value that underpins social care practice is trust. It is very important that the person being cared for trusts you as their social service worker. The best way to do this is to develop a strong relationship with the person so that they know that they have someone they can speak to if they ever have a problem. This value is described in various different ways within the SSSC codes of practice. One of these codes states that as a social service worker should be seen as “being reliable and dependable” (SSSC,2009:2.4) if you are always there for them then they will be able to trust you. Another value that is related to the SSSC codes of practice would be the value of respect. All clients want to be and deserve to be respected by everyone especially their social service worker. This also means respecting their personal belongings as well as them as a person. As a social service worker your role includes “treating each person as an individual” (SSSC,2009:1.1) this just means that everyone should be accepted for who they are and treated with the utmost
The NASW Code of Ethics is the premier source of social work values, especially for students. It “is relevant to all social workers and social work students, regardless of their professional functions, the settings in which they work, or the populations they serve” (Code of Ethics - NASW, n.d.). These teachings are especially applicable in direct practice, no matter which client is being treated. Throughout the CSUB Social Work program, this worker is constantly reminded to “treat each person in a caring and respectful fashion, mindful of individual differences” (Code of Ethics - NASW,
The social safety net has grown to include and protect a diverse group of people of all ages. Social workers have become vital to older persons who need long term care, persons struggling with addictions, and communities that are devastated by natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and violent tragedies
Under the health and safety act everyone should be thinking about how to keep themselves, others and the environment they work in safe. Adults have a duty of care and should encourage the children to also do this, this will help increase their own awareness of what they are doing and where.
Social workers specialize in treating all types of clients. Regardless of their specialty, all social workers have common tasks. When they get new clients, social workers, both in the military and...
United States Department of Labor (2004) Occupational Safety & Health Administration. In Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Health Care & Social Service Workers. Retrieved from http://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3148/osha3148.html
Bringing out warning signs to alert other staff members of the dangers in the workplace
This has become a serious concern and companies now have to take a stand to protect their employees as well as the organization. Workplace violence can have a damaging effect on a company. A company can suffer serious implications if they don’t introduce policies in the workplace that protect employees from becoming a target. Families affected can sue a company for not having proper procedures in place to protect their loved ones. Millions are paid out every year to compensate for the damages incurred.
The three-month intervention targeted the following areas: improvement of worker health through the involvement of unit managers, implementation of unit-wide safety changes, and worker education. The intervention agenda included three themes: 1) improvement of unit ergonomics and safety, 2) practicing safe patient handling, and 3) enhancing staff physical fitness. Floor safety champions were appointed to guide staff during the implementation of the safe patient handling activities. The program included mentoring sessions with an ergonomic specialist, which focused on increasing awareness of strategies to reduce the risk of injury to the worker and patient. Expanded knowledge, readily available supervisor support, and the improved work environment were associated with reduced worker stress and increased consistency in the implementation of safety techniques among workers (Caspi et al.,
Introduction Canadian health and safety legislation requires companies and organizations to make a commitment towards occupational health and safety. Maintaining a safe workplace environment has numerous benefits. A safe work environment can boost employee morale, increase productivity, and improve job satisfaction. For companies and organizations, these benefits can lead to less turnover and increased employee retention. They can also reduce absenteeism while improving the culture and image of a company or organization.
Safety is a primary concern in the health care environment, but there are still many preventable errors that occur. In fact, a study from ProPublica in 2013 found that between 210,000 and 440,000 patients each year suffer preventable harm in the hospital (Allen, 2013). Safety in the healthcare environment is not only keeping the patient safe, but also the employee. If a nurse does not follow procedure, they could bring harm to themselves, the patient, or both. Although it seems like such a simple topic with a simple solution, there are several components to what safety really entails. Health care professionals must always be cautious to prevent any mishaps to their patients, especially when using machines or lifting objects, as it has a higher
Many times the Safety Officer, if you will, is accused of not being a team player. Being chastised for doing ones job is not the most effective way to promote a safety minded environment. Also on the other side of the coin the Safety Officer must implement or correct s...
Domestic violence is skyrocketing in our society. In the U.S., as many as 1.5 million women and 850,000 men were physically assaulted by their intimate partner last year, and numerous children abused by their parents. These sad criminal acts will continue to grow in our society, unless our community takes action to stop these crimes. First of all, the most important tool we have available against this type of crime are the authorities, which include the police department, hospital, and social workers. If they manage to work together as a team to make the whole process of protecting a victim more efficient, it will encourage victims to actually phone for help.