Scenario
Mark worked at the local hospital in the administration centrefor admission and discharge of clients who accessed the service.Part of the role involved customer service where he was required tolocate the ward and bed number of patients for people wishing tovisit them. There were a 6 other administration officers who workedin the same area, but only 2 were rostered on at the one time, ascover for the area was required 7 days a week, from 0800 to2000.
It was a challenging area to work in as patientwere transferred to different areas of the hospital depending onwhat care, test or operations they required. At times, this areawas very busy and some of the customers got impatient very easily.Some customers were stressed and they often asked Mark the progressof the patient they were visiting. Mark was unable to give themthese details and could only refer them to the nursing staff ordoctor who was caring for the patient. Mark had suffered his shareof verbal bullying from customers trying to access information. Theother component to his role was to ensure all the paperwork wascompleted, private health insurance checked and invoices generatedfor when the patient was to be discharged.
On the Monday, when Mark came into work, he foundout through office talk that Amanda, the administration officer,who worked on Sunday afternoon had been physically attacked and wasnow off on stress leave. Mark wondered what had happened but no onewas really sure. There were a lot of conflicting stories that wentaround the department.
a. The student needs to access Clickhere and use the information to identify WHS issues in thescenario provided.
b. You need to identify any improvements you thinkthat could be made to the work practices of the centre to enableworkers to handle difficult situations better. Make a list ofpossible formal and informal opportunities for debriefing,including advantages and disadvantages of each.
Be sure to cover all issues relating to legal andethical responsibilities and duty of care. Identify any statutoryand regulatory requirements that may impact on thissituation.
