The union representing nurses, paramedics and other NHS staff has reacted angrily to new statistics on violence in the health sector in England, calling the increase in attacks on workers “a national disgrace”.
The signing of a new three-way agreement between the NHS, Police and Crown prosecutors is expected to help the authorities take tougher action against individuals who assault health-care workers.
A Welsh hospital that allowed maintenance contractors to work in areas where asbestos was present and in an unsafe condition is likely to be spared prosecution owing to a legislative blunder relating to NHS reforms.
The TUC has criticised the Government’s recently launched Work Programme, saying it is a money-making exercise that hinders rather than helps disabled people.
A care home in Wales has been ordered to pay more than £100,000 in fines and costs after an elderly resident was killed when he fell 12 feet out of a window.
A social care organisation failed to take adequate action to protect service staff from a potentially aggressive client with learning disabilities, despite staff being exposed to a number of violent incidents involving the individual over a 21-month period.
A man with learning difficulties died and five others with disabilities suffered horrific internal injuries after a carer confused dishwasher fluid with orange squash and gave it to a group to drink on a council-organised trip.
An HSE inspector has criticised a Sheffield care home, claiming it had no excuse for failing to prevent elderly patients from being able to access dangerous chemicals.
In a climate where the phrase ‘health and safety’ is far too often misused or ridiculed, there is a risk that the very real duties that employers owe to their staff and others will be forgotten in the maelstrom of hype and hysteria that is currently surrounding the subject of swine flu. Tim Hill keeps things in perspective and outlines the practical steps employers can take to cope with ‘the second wave’.
More than 60 per cent of nurses working in the community have been subjected to verbal or physical abuse in the past two years, according to new survey findings from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
The success of the fit note is being compromised, in part, by GPs' reluctance and lack of confidence in suggesting workplace changes to help patients return to work, new research from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has found.
Retaining a newly disabled person in employment has a cost benefit of at least 2.5 times an employer's investment, according to the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).
A UK glove manufacturer is helping keep people in West Africa safe through its generous donation of examination gloves to an international charity working in the region.
By investing in six of its electricoperated materials-handling tugs for moving roll cages of catering trolleys, laundry and medical notes MasterMover says Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has reduced the risk of accidents and injuries to its staff, while also improving handling efficiencies.
ZOLL Medical Corporation, a manufacturer of medical devices and related software solutions, says it is now supplying the British Heart Foundation (BHF) with the ZOLL AED Plus® and ZOLL AED Pro® Automatic External Defibrillators.
Safesite has provided Frimley Park Hospital with fall-from-height protection to ensure safe access for maintenance and repair of plant and equipment situated on the building’s roofs.
York Hospital has introduced an ergonomically-designed trolley from Craven Ltd to accommodate its medical gas cylinders. Made of lightweight stainless steel, Craven says the trolley is more hygienic and aesthetically pleasing than traditional painted metal trolleys, and easier to manoeuvre and maintain.
