ACT Health minimises risks in the public health care system by offering a safe and secure environment for staff, patients, visitors and contractors. There are also various policies and procedures in place to support this.
Feeling Safe and Supported at Placement
As a student/trainee on placement, you have the right to feel safe from undesirable behaviours, including discrimination, harassment and bullying. This guide offers a summary of different types of undesirable behaviours and actions you can take if you feel you experience these whilst on placement with an ACT public health service.
Reporting of incidents involving clients, patients and members of the public
If an incident occurs during your placement that involves clients, patients and/or members of the public, you should immediately report the incident to your supervisor. These incidents are officially reported as part of ACT Health’s risk management strategy.
You should also report the incident to your education provider or the CPO.
For more information, please see the ACT Health Mandatory Reporting of Significant Incidents Policy and Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
Accident, injury or incident to students
During placement, you must comply with all health and safety instructions, policies, programs and procedures outlined at orientation. This includes acting to avoid, eliminate or minimise hazards.
Any accident, incident or injury that you receive during placement must be immediately reported to your supervisor. They will help you complete an ACT Government Accident/Incident Report. This is a requirement under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
You should also report the incident to your education provider.
For more information, please use our Workplace Health and Safety Policy.
Manual handling
ACT Health aims to achieve and maintain the best possible standards of health, safety and welfare for staff and clients. It is also responsible for developing and maintaining safe work systems that prevent risks from manual handling.
Students and trainees must follow safe manual handling work practices outlined in the ACT Health Manual Handling Policy.
Infection Prevention and Control
Infection prevention and control aims to minimise the infection risks linked to the delivery of healthcare. Please ensure you are familiar with the requirement for Standard and Additional precautions in your relevant area.
For more information, please see the ACT Health Infection Prevention and Control Policy.
Emergency and security
All ACT Health sites have emergency and security procedures in place to reduce risks to staff, visitors, patients and ACT Health property and equipment. You will be informed of these at the start of your placement.
Non-smoking
All areas of ACT Health buildings and grounds are smoke free. For more information, please see the Smoke Free Environment policy.