Occupational Safety Health and Wellness Officer

Occupational Safety Health and Wellness Officer

THE QUEEN ELIZABETH HOSPITAL BOARD

 JOB DESCRIPTION


JOB TITLE:		Occupational Safety, Health and Wellness Officer
SALARY SCALE: 	Z5-3 ($67,225.15-$71,152.47) Barbados Dollars
DEPARTMENT:		Human Resources Department
REPORTS TO:		Director Human Resources

JOB SUMMARY
The Occupational Health, Safety and Wellness Officer is required to plan, coordinate, monitor and review the protective and preventative health and safety measures undertaken by the hospital in compliance with the provisions of the Safety and Health at Work Act 2005 to minimize operational losses, occupational health problems, accidents and injuries. To ensure that working conditions are safe and inspect and enforce safety standards to protect employees against biohazardous waste.


MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The duties listed below are intended only as an illustration of the various types of work that may be performed:

1. Administers the established Health and Safety Programme;
2. Oversees the implementation of standard working practices in conjunction with the Safety and Health committee to ensure the health, safety and welfare of persons employed or visiting the hospital;
3. Assists Management in redesigning the working environment.
4. Assists with the investigation of possible causes of accidents and recommending corrective action on the occurrence of an accident;
5. Maintains accident books;
6. Advises management and employees on prevention of injury to personnel and damage to plant and equipment;
7. Records and analyses information on accidents, injuries in the workplace and reporting on trends;
8. Provides advice on a range of specialist areas, e.g. fire regulations, protection against hazardous substances and biohazardous waste; excess noise, personal protective equipment, safeguarding machinery and occupational disease in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders,;
9. Coordinates meetings with the Event Response Team following incidents of violence and aggression;
10. Conducts violence assessments and reassessments as necessary with appropriate Management staff and reporting findings to Joint Safety and Health Committee;
11. Prepares direction and other information to facilitate safety seminars and training that is required to be given to employees in accordance with the Safety and Health at Work Act;
12. Reviews and updates any policies related to the Safety and Health at Work Act, HACCP rules, codes of practice etc;
13. Continually assesses the fire prevention programme for the hospital, including evacuation procedures; ensuring maintenance of fire extinguishers;
14. Performs routine inspections of hospital facilities, machinery and equipment to ensure compliance with safety and health standards and maintaining records of inspection findings and producing reports for the Safety and Health Committee with recommendations for improvements;
15. Assesses workplace accident trends and reviewing over all safety performances;
16. Attends Disaster Management and Safety and Health Committee meetings as required;
17. Ensures the efficient management of contractors in line with the QEH Contractors safety management requirements;
18. Prepares and distributes reports, correspondence and other documents to internal and external parties;
19. Performs risk assessments and makes recommendations for risk reduction and corrective action;
20. Responds as required to any complaints and/or incidents of workplace violence and communicating to the appropriate departments/parties;
21. Liaises with Safety and Health committee, Department Heads and Training and Development Section in developing in-house training for employees about health, safety and risk management;
22. Collaborates with departments on operational procedures which identifying and taking account of all relevant hazards; e.g HACCP
23. Maintains records of incidents and accidents and producing relevant reports for Senior Management;
24. Ensures that accidents and incidences are reported under the Accidents and occupational diseases (notification) Act Cap 338;
25. Keeps up-to-date with changes to legislation and maintaining a working knowledge of developments that affect the hospital;
26. Participates in workplace discussion on injury, health and Wellness and damage control;
27. Assists with the formulation of emergency/contingency plans for natural disasters, disaster preparedness and recovery, industrial action, fire, explosions and bomb threats
28. Observes health and safety precautions in the execution of duties;
29. Uses customer service skills to establish and maintain effective working relationships with patients, staff and members of the public.
30. Performs any other related duty as assigned.

1. Knowledge of labour laws, local industrial relations and human resources practices;
2. In-depth knowledge of laws and regulations pertaining to Barbados Occupational Safety and Health, including audits and inspections;
3. Knowledge of Hospital and departmental rules and regulations;
4. Sound knowledge of health and safety procedures;
5. Knowledge of HACCP requirements
6. Knowledge of clinical risk and quality assurance protocols and practices;
7. Knowledge of Microsoft Office programmes particularly, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint;
8. Good leadership, management and organizational skills;
9. Excellent analytical, interpersonal, communication skills and organisational skills, including the ability to synthesize information into clear, concise messages both for detailed analytical reports and executive summaries;
10. Ability to interpret and explain relevant policies and procedures to staff;
11. Ability to work independently or team, think creatively, manage own time and take initiative to drive projects;
12. Understanding of various enterprise software applications, particularly HRIS.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE 

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational Safety and Health Management/ Human Resources Management/ Management Studies, or in a related discipline with specialisation in Health and Safety Administration.
• Experience in Safety and Health Administration.
• OSHA General Industry or NEBOSH General Certificate, or similar certification from a recognized Certified Safety Professional Board would be an asset.