The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has launched a risk assessment tool to help aid local decision making on the level of personal protective equipment (PPE) required to protect them whilst at work.
The tool, created in collaboration with the COVID Airborne Protection Alliance (CAPA) and the British Occupational Hygiene Society, was designed to support staff to make ‘evidence-based decisions’ about PPE.
Called the ‘COVID-19 workplace risk assessment toolkit’, it ‘highlights the legal duties of employers to protect their staff and reflects UK legislation on risk assessment’, and encompasses advice for employers, healthcare leaders, healthcare workers, safety representatives, and managers, across its 11 sections.
The toolkit aims to support users by highlighting the role and duties of those in specific roles, as well as providing information on risk assessment actions to support the identification and management of risks wherever health professional’s work. These include thinking about: which workers could be exposed and for how long, the frequency with which COVID or the ‘biological agent’ could be transmitted, and which employees could be at increased risk.
It also looks at control and the use of control measures. In terms of training, RCN recommends that information, instruction and training is provided to staff on the risk to health, how and when to use control measures, how to use PPE, the cleaning, storage and disposal procedures, and what to do in an emergency.
A ‘Worker Respiratory Infection Safety Tool’ is also available to download and prompts staff with ‘yes’ and ‘no’ questions to consider in terms of how transmission of infection can be controlled.
There are also dedicated sections on RPE (Respiratory Protective Equipment), links to further resources, and how to provide feedback on the tool.
Rose Gallagher, RCN Professional Lead for Infection Prevention and Control, said: “From the very start of the pandemic, nursing staff have had to fight for the protection they need when caring for patients with COVID-19. It is increasingly clear those lessons have not been learned.
“The public are being warned of how easily the new variant can spread and yet nursing staff are facing increasing risks to their own health when at work.
“This practical tool highlights the legal duties of employers and managers to protect their staff and steps to take to do this. Its key that our members understand these steps and their rights to help reduce the risk of getting COVID-19 at work.”
To tool is available to view online, here.
