Promoting a safe workplace

Every nurse should expect that they work in a safe environment.

The Victorian Government is committed to preventing and reducing occupational violence and bullying.  In March 2004 a taskforce was established to provide advice to the Minister for Health, regarding violence in the workplace directed towards nurses and develop strategies that reduce its occurrence. 

The Minister accepted all the 29 recommendations that the taskforce made.  These recommendations provide a whole of system framework that will bring together issues related to occupational violence and facilitate the creation of a safe work culture and environment for nurses. 

An important part of changing culture, systems and responses, is establishing a communication strategy.  A high priority has been placed on establishing an effective public awareness campaign, one that has a message for the general public.  NurseSafe brings about an approach that portrays nursing as a valued profession, where nurses are respected and promotes a positive response to nurses. 

NurseSafe will provide facilitation and coordination of the communication strategies developed to address the problem of violence and bullying against nurses in the workplace and to effectively reduce the incidence of violence in a more consistent and coordinated manner.  This logo will brand work that is happening to reduce the incidence of violence to nurses.

Employers have a duty of care under the OH&S legislation to provide a working environment for their employees that is safe, and without risk.

The Branch is commited to developing and implementing policies that promote a safe workplace.

Two current projects which the Branch is overseeing include the Victorian Nurses Back Injury Prevention Project and Workplace Violence.