Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

All employers, including the Health Service Executive and hospitals, are obliged to adhere to the requirements set out in health and safety legislation and to ensure the safety, health and welfare of their staff. Hospitals must also ensure that patients and visitors are not exposed to risks to their safety, health and welfare.

Under existing legislation any hazards must be risk assessed and appropriate control measures put in place to eliminate the hazard or, where this is not possible, reduce it as far as reasonably practicable. It is also open to the Health and Safety Authority to make the necessary inquiries or carry out such inspections as it deems necessary to verify the compliance of any employer with existing legislation.

In 2005 the HSA wrote to the chief executives of all hospitals with A&E departments. This letter required the hospital chief executives to ensure that a comprehensive written risk assessment was prepared, in accordance with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act. The Health and Safety Authority has urged all those working in hospitals to have due regard for their own safety and that of others and to liaise with their safety representative and management to ensure all risks have been addressed. The national hospitals office of the Health Service Executive has in place a standard operating procedure for risk assessment in A&E units. This procedure deals with any hazard that could cause harm to staff, patients, clients or visitors occurring at any time and in any location within A&E units.

The Health Service Executive is responsible for implementing procedures to protect employees, patients and visitors to hospitals under all the health and safety legislation. I understand that in 2006 the Health and Safety Authority is continuing its work relating to the potential risks to safety, health and welfare of hospital workers and has written to the Health Service Executive recently in this regard. There are obvious synergies between employee health and safety and patient safety. The issues involved cut across a number of agencies including the Health Service Executive, Health and Safety Authority and possibly the health and information and quality authority, HIQA, when it is established. My Department will have a role in ensuring a coherent approach has been taken at a national level by the various public agencies involved.

See this speech in context