Episode 14 - Legislative Responsibilities, Occupational Health and Safety, and Site Inspections – OH MY!
07/15/20 • 12 min
In this episode, Jody and Leanne discuss one of the Standards of Practice that typically gets little attention, the Legislative Responsibilities Standard. The episode starts with a brief review of some relevant legislation encompassed in the Standard, including:
- The Radiation Protection Act; and
- The Protection for Persons in Care Act.
The second half of the episode provides a more detailed discussion of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which has recently garnered attention in the physiotherapy community because of the announcement that the Government of Alberta plans to send Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) officers to inspect physiotherapy businesses.
The discussion of the OHS Act focusses on:
- The application of OHS legislation to physiotherapy practice.
- The key aims of the legislation and its requirements.
- The roles of both employers and workers.
We also talk about the rationale for the increase in OHS inspections, link to tools to help you prepare for an inspection and direct you to additional workplace safety program resources.
If you are surprised that this legislation applies to you and your practice, you may want to check out the episode!
Resources:
- Physiotherapy Alberta. Standard of Practice – Legislative Responsibilities. https://www.physiotherapyalberta.ca/physiotherapists/what_you_need_to_know_to_practice_in_alberta/standards_of_practice/legislative_responsibilities
- Physiotherapy Alberta. Legislation Related to Practice. https://www.physiotherapyalberta.ca/physiotherapists/resources_to_help_you_meet_practice_standards/legislation_related_to_practice
- Government of Alberta. Occupational Health and Safety. https://www.alberta.ca/occupational-health-safety.aspx
- Government of Alberta. OHS Work Site Inspections: What to Expect. https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/c99544f0-57e8-4666-9175-19a90c869339/resource/54010109-ed5a-4eb8-ab9e-11d9dcc71866/download/lbr-ohs-work-site-inspections.pdf
- Government of Alberta. Occupational Health and Safety Starter Kit. https://open.alberta.ca/publications/9781460144473
- Physiotherapy Alberta. Occupational Health and Safety Online Course. https://www.physiotherapyalberta.ca/xchange/continuing_professional_development/elearning_center/occupational_health_and_safety/?course_type%3Alist=Online+Course
Links:
In this episode, Jody and Leanne discuss one of the Standards of Practice that typically gets little attention, the Legislative Responsibilities Standard. The episode starts with a brief review of some relevant legislation encompassed in the Standard, including:
- The Radiation Protection Act; and
- The Protection for Persons in Care Act.
The second half of the episode provides a more detailed discussion of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which has recently garnered attention in the physiotherapy community because of the announcement that the Government of Alberta plans to send Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) officers to inspect physiotherapy businesses.
The discussion of the OHS Act focusses on:
- The application of OHS legislation to physiotherapy practice.
- The key aims of the legislation and its requirements.
- The roles of both employers and workers.
We also talk about the rationale for the increase in OHS inspections, link to tools to help you prepare for an inspection and direct you to additional workplace safety program resources.
If you are surprised that this legislation applies to you and your practice, you may want to check out the episode!
Resources:
- Physiotherapy Alberta. Standard of Practice – Legislative Responsibilities. https://www.physiotherapyalberta.ca/physiotherapists/what_you_need_to_know_to_practice_in_alberta/standards_of_practice/legislative_responsibilities
- Physiotherapy Alberta. Legislation Related to Practice. https://www.physiotherapyalberta.ca/physiotherapists/resources_to_help_you_meet_practice_standards/legislation_related_to_practice
- Government of Alberta. Occupational Health and Safety. https://www.alberta.ca/occupational-health-safety.aspx
- Government of Alberta. OHS Work Site Inspections: What to Expect. https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/c99544f0-57e8-4666-9175-19a90c869339/resource/54010109-ed5a-4eb8-ab9e-11d9dcc71866/download/lbr-ohs-work-site-inspections.pdf
- Government of Alberta. Occupational Health and Safety Starter Kit. https://open.alberta.ca/publications/9781460144473
- Physiotherapy Alberta. Occupational Health and Safety Online Course. https://www.physiotherapyalberta.ca/xchange/continuing_professional_development/elearning_center/occupational_health_and_safety/?course_type%3Alist=Online+Course
Links:
Previous Episode
Episode 13 - Making Lasting Changes in the Wake of COVID-19
Hosts: Jody Prohar, Registrar, Physiotherapy Alberta; Leanne Loranger, Manager Policy + Practice, Physiotherapy Alberta
In this episode, we talk about infection prevention and control and some of the lasting effects that COVID-19 may have on physiotherapy practice. Fundamentally, the pandemic has changed clinical practice. Some of the changes seen will remain, even as the first wave of the pandemic wanes and will affect how we address the predicted second wave of COVID-19 as well as other infectious diseases, such as annual influenza outbreaks.
In this episode we discuss:
- The hierarchy of controls and other measures to limit the spread of infectious diseases. Although there has been a lot of focus on personal protective equipment, and specifically mask use lately, PPE is situated at the bottom of the hierarchy of controls to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
- When, how and why to complete a Point of Care Risk Assessment. The likelihood of needing additional measures to protect against the spread of infectious diseases will depend on the practice setting and patient population served. For this reason, physiotherapists need to conduct a Point of Care Risk Assessment that considers the risks posed by the patient, the task to be completed, and the practice environment.
- Changing workplace sick culture. We close the episode with a discussion of one of the most challenging aspects of COVID-19 response, the need to change workplace sick culture. How do we recalibrate our collective understanding of what constitutes illness? How do we move away from a culture of needing to be nearly dead before taking a sick day, to one where staying home when ill is the right thing to do?
Resources:
- Alberta Health Services. Point of Care Risk Assessment https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/assets/healthinfo/ipc/hi-ipc-acute-care-pcra.pdf
- Alberta Health. CMOH Order 16-2020 (Direction on Continuous Masking). https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/2a615f78-aa9e-48d9-a323-9f2c08b07667/resource/fcca7551-9a32-4ec0-9545-aa5163f8a284/download/health-cmoh-record-of-decision-cmoh-16-2020.pdf
- Alberta Health Services. Aerosol-Generating Medical Procedure Guidance Tool. https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/topics/Page17091.aspx
Links:
Next Episode
Episode 15 - Leaving a Practice: The Bitter End?
Bitter divorces are not inevitable when physiotherapists decide to change employers. However, from time to time that is how things can play out. Physiotherapy Alberta typically only hears about the situations that are really problematic with both the clinician and the employer calling Physiotherapy Alberta to cast the other party as the ‘bad guy’ - not the transitions that go smoothly.
In this episode Jody and Leanne discuss:
- The root causes of conflict during these transitions.
- Some common issues that physiotherapists and business owners grapple with.
- Our best tips for avoiding trouble.
If leaving a practice can end up feeling like a bitter divorce, the best prevention is a good pre-nup agreement. With that in mind, this episode also covers topics that physiotherapists and physiotherapy business owners should proactively include in their employment agreements.
Most importantly, all parties need to internalize the mantra that no one owns the patient. We explain what we mean by that at the 3-minute mark of the episode.
Resources:
Links:
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