Workplace health and safety standards
There is strong evidence linking patient safety, patient experiences and the quality of care with the safety, health and wellbeing of the workforce. These standards developed by the NHS Staff Council's Health, Safety and Wellbeing Group, pull together legal requirements and guidance to help organisations comply with goal-setting legislation. They provide practical pointers and signposting for meeting appropriate standards in key areas of workforce health and safety.
These updated workplace health and safety standards are aimed at directors and managers with health and safety responsibilities, health and safety professionals and trade union safety representatives.
The standards:
- describe the principles which provide the basis of effective health and safety management
- set out the issues which need to be addressed
- provide links to the relevant guidance
- can be used for developing improvement programmes, self audit or self assessment.
Workplace health and safety standards webinar
In March 2023 we hosted a 90-minute webinar outlining latest updates on the workplace health and safety standards and how these can best be implemented to support your workforce.
The webinar was hosted by Jenny Michael and Kim Sunley, co-chairs of the NHS Staff Council’s Health, Safety and Wellbeing Group. It featured presentations from the Health and Safety Executive on key findings and recommendations from recent inspection activity, and from the assistant director of health and safety at Liverpool University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
You can view the webinar recording and download the presentation slides from the links below:
Health, Safety and Wellbeing Group (HSWG)
This guidance was produced by the NHS Staff Council's Health, Safety and Wellbeing Group. The overall purpose of the group is to raise standards of workplace health, safety and wellbeing in healthcare organisations and to promote a safer working environment for all healthcare staff.
Become a member of HSWG
If you work within health, safety and wellbeing in an NHS organisation and are interested in becoming a member of HSWG, please do get in touch with us to express your interest via healthandwellbeing@nhsemployers.org.
