Partnership for Occupational Safety and Health in Healthcare

The Partnership for Occupational Safety and Health in Healthcare (POSHH ) is the occupational health and safety sub group of the NHS Staff Council. It consists of staff and management side representatives drawn from the service and working in partnership to deliver its objectives.

Overall purpose of the group

The purpose of the group is to raise standards of occupational health and safety in the healthcare organisations and to promote best practice across both the NHS and the Independent sector.

The agreed objectives of the POSHH group are to:

• assist NHS Employers in the development of a national occupational health and safety strategy for the healthcare sector and to promote its implementation
• scope, evaluate and encourage the spread of good practice, particularly in respect of risks identified within the Health Select Committee's priority programmes and the NHS Employers contractual programme of work
• work in partnership with Health and Safety Executive in assisting the aims and directives of the Ministerial Task Force for health, safety and productivity to reduce the incidence of workplace days lost through ill health and injury
• identify potential areas where standard approaches across the sectors would be beneficial (e.g. key performance indicators) and seek to agree what those approaches should be and promote their implementation
• develop partnership links with other relevant bodies in areas of work which have an impact on healthcare occupational health and safety and to provide a source of expertise where necessary
• identify areas of research and to seek sources of funding to support this
• review standards of occupational health and safety based on monitoring arrangements within the national occupational health strategy, and identify common areas that may need addressing
• share information on best practice and explore how each of the healthcare bodies represented on the group can make best use of this knowledge
• be a focal point for consultation on Government policy making and development relating to occupational health and safety.

Membership

The membership of the POSHH sub group is:

• NHS Employers organisation plus
• Nominated representatives to reflect the variety of healthcare settings within the NHS
• Representatives from AMICUS, BMA, CSP, RCN, and UNISON

Attending as advisers

• HSE
• Registered Nursing Homes Association
• Healthcare Commission
• NHS Scotland
• NHS Wales
• Independent Healthcare Advisory Services
• NHS Litigation Authority
• Counter Fraud and Security Management Services

The group invites other organisations to contribute to particular areas of work as appropriate.

Ways of working

The group has adopted partnership working to deliver its aims. There are joint chairs: one from representatives of staff organisations and one from representatives of employers

Chairs alternate for each meeting and work with NHS Employers in the planning of agendas, minutes and other documentation. The secretariat to the group is provided by NHS Employers and regular reports are provided to the NHS Staff Council

To maintain a tripartite structure, HSE, HCC, NHSLA and CFSMS are represented on the group as expert advisers