Risk & Liability - Disability, Aged, Healthcare Sectors

THE IMPACT OF OCCUPATIONAL VIOLENCE - HOW TO REDUCE RISK & LIABILITY

Occupational violence in the Disability, Aged and Healthcare workforce can have a significant impact on the well-being of the workers, the quality of care provided, and the organisation as a whole.

Here are some of the impacts:

Physical and psychological harm:

Workers who experience occupational violence may suffer physical injuries, such as bruises, cuts, or broken bones, as well as psychological harm, such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Increased absenteeism and turnover:

Workers who experience occupational violence may take time off work to recover from injuries or to seek support for psychological distress. In some cases, workers may leave their jobs altogether due to the trauma of the experience, leading to increased turnover and staffing shortages which is seen across Disability, Aged and Healthcare sectors.

Reduced job satisfaction and morale:

Occupational violence can have a negative impact on job satisfaction and morale, leading to decreased motivation and engagement in work tasks.

Decreased quality of care:

When workers experience occupational violence, it can impact their ability to provide high-quality care to their participants ,residents, consumers and patients. Workers may be more cautious or hesitant in their interactions, which can lead to less effective communication and care.

Financial costs:

Occupational violence can also have financial costs for the organization, including medical expenses, workers' compensation claims, and legal fees.

Reputation damage:

In extreme cases, occupational violence incidents can damage the organisations reputation and lead to negative publicity.

Overall, occupational violence in the disability, aged, and healthcare workforce can have a significant impact on workers, participants, consumers , residents , patients and organisations.

It is essential to have policies and practices in place to prevent and respond to incidents of occupational violence and to support workers who experience it.

Fundamentally organisation wide training and education on Behaviour Support can have a great effect on duty of care for staff by reducing risk, protecting staff and the people they care for and reduce liability for organisations that everyone is trained and feels confident and competent.

Team Teach Australia and New Zealand provide accredited Behaviour Support Training with flexible options to support staff across the organisation with value based training that includes dynamic risk assessments, de-escalation strategies, legal frameworks and ongoing support. If you want to reduce risk and liability and help retain staff and support better care then Behaviour Support Training is an investment in duty of care of staff and the people you support with your organisation services.

For more information please contact Sean Matthews, Director Business Development, Team Teach ANZ on 0437148168 or [email protected] and he can provide a FREE training needs analysis and help to provide the right behaviour support training to protect your staff and organisation and reduce risk and liability.