The aged care sector has over the past three years experienced over 2000 claims, the second most in hospitals in the healthcare and social assistance industry. Most of the injuries result from work practice with most workers having a higher than average risk of being injured.
The greatest risks are associated with manual handling of hazards, burns, and slips due to slippery floors, loose rugs and other fall-inducing conditions.
Employers in aged care should plan and implement the worker's return to work and assign a suitable role that is consistent with the worker's physical condition. This calls for the appointment of a Return to Work coordinator to allow the process to run in a systemized and effective manner. All internal safety management systems should be professionally assessed with the aim of identifying any loopholes or system gaps that could pose a threat to the safety of employees.
A well-executed Return to Work process herald the perceived standards of safety in the workplace. The process has enabled many organisations and companies in Australia to not only achieve an early return to work for their employees but also to reduce costs associated with health care and wage replacement. The key facilitators are;
Partnering with a reliable RTW service provider will help eliminate barriers - such as the injury itself, lack of RTW know-how by both the managers and the staff, and the lack of suitable duties.
At Recovery partners we offer a full Return to Work service to businesses wanting to manage this process in a manner which is both resource efficient and sensitive to the needs of their employees.
If you're interested, you can make an online enquiry here. Alternatively, our consultants love to have a chat, so give us a call on 1300 OHS RTW (647 789).