Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to P Tearle.
The Human Rights Act 1998 came into effect on 2 October 2000. The list of human rights now embodied in United Kingdom law reflects the ideas and values of our changing and developing society. As a dynamic document the act has parallels with the ideals found in health and safety law. This article looks at the act and considers its implications for employers with regard to existing health and safety law.
The Employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) came into force on 2 December 1996. The DDA makes discrimination against a disabled person, or a person who has had a disability in the past, unlawful. The poor employment position of people who have a disability is made worse by the widespread belief that disabled people are less productive in employment, that they are more likely to leave the organisation because of ill health and that they are a risk to other employees on the grounds of health and safety. This article looks at the problem of disability and how employers may adjust the workplace to accommodate disabled workers, and employ them without compromising safety.
Every producer of controlled waste in the UK has a duty of care under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to dispose of the waste in a manner which takes appropriate care and consideration to ensure that it does not cause harm to human health or pollute the environment. This article looks at what is meant by 'duty of care' to ensure clinical waste produced by laboratories or in a health care setting is disposed of in the correct manner.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Safety at work depends on knowledge of the hazards of the working environment and their effects. Training is needed to avoid, reduce, or manage the effects of these hazards. Health and safety legislation requires employers to provide staff with the knowledge needed for safety management and the confidence to deal with hazards at work. This article considers the general health and safety training requirements for different members of staff in terms of management and competence.
The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) recently launched a long term occupational health strategy for England, Scotland, and Wales. Set out in a document entitled Securing health together and on a dedicated website the ten year strategy aims to reduced occupational ill health by a series of five work programmes. This article looks at the background to the document, its content, and likely impact at work.
Health and safety should be integrated into all practices and procedures at work. This article looks at the differences between safety officers/advisers, also known as safety practitioners and appointed safely representatives, examining their roles and responsibilities within working environments in general and specifically in microbiology laboratories and offices.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The phenomenon of 'sick building syndrome' is associated with several factors rather than a single readily and directly observable cause and various symptoms and behaviours rather than one clinical syndrome. Like another modern occupational ill health problem--repetitive strain injury--its existence may be questioned or doubted by the employers of staff who work in modern buildings. This article looks at what makes a building sick and how a sick building can affect its occupants. It guides staff in the recognition of the syndrome and suggests ways to reduce the risks of working in a building whose poor design or maintenance constitutes a hazard for occupants.
The word noise implies sound that is loud, disturbing, and unwanted. This article reviews what can be done about noisy working environments within the context of the established legal framework, as well as on a local practical level.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Three elements are needed for a fire to start and flourish: heat, fuel, and oxygen. These elements form the three sides of the 'fire triangle', and the removal or isolation of any one will extinguish a fire. Such action forms the basis of fire fighting techniques currently in use by the fire authorities. Two sides of the fire triangle, fuel and oxygen, are always present in the workplace. This article looks at the common causes of fire in the workplace, and the precautions and control measures needed to prevent it.
In microbiology laboratories highly infectious material is handled alongside complex and potentially dangerous equipment, and staff are therefore at risk of infections and accidents. Acts of parliament and regulations exist to protect staff in the workplace, including those exposed to biological agents. The current monitoring of health and safety in laboratories seeks to ensure that employers and employees comply with existing regulations, but this form of passive surveillance is of limited value because it does not highlight shortcomings in techniques, equipment, premises, or personnel. We propose a scheme for the surveillance of health and safety in microbiology laboratories that will actively seek information about laboratory incidents and practices, in order to enable appropriate preventive measures to be instituted.