So, what’s the issue with drugs as hazardous substances?
Hazardous drugs are medications that can have serious adverse effects on a worker’s health if exposure to these substances occurs.
Legislation surrounding the treatment of hazardous substances can be found at state level with changes occurring regularly. This creates the complex issue of different requirements for different states. While many aged care facilities have policies and education for the safe handling of chemical substances, many are not following the legislative requirements relating to drugs as hazardous substances.
The Safe Work Australia Act 2008 was created in an attempt to harmonise legislation across all of Australia’s states and territories. Safe Work Australia has overseen a large degree of harmonisation which has resulted in the majority of Australian workers being covered by similar work health and safety (WHS) laws.
What do I need to do?
The treatment of medications as hazardous substances is covered under state legislation and the requirements are now relatively consistent between states and territories. To comply with legislation and to improve the way that hazardous substances are handled, you will need to do the following:
- A hazardous substance register for hazardous drugs must be available
- Workers who administer or come into contact with hazardous drugs must receive training
- Retraining must occur on a regular basis
- A record of staff training must be kept
- Workers must have easy access to Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for each hazardous drug
How often do I need to update my data?
Over the years there have been significant changes in healthcare, especially in such areas as technology, identifying new conditions and diseases, and the development of new treatments and medications. These changes present challenges for those who are responsible for managing and providing care, particularly when provided against a backdrop of funding constraints, staff shortages, increasing work hours, a ‘casualised’ workforce, additional skill requirements and an ageing workforce.
New medications and information become available every year, making this a somewhat difficult process to keep up with. A simple way of ensuring all managers, supervisors and staff have access to training, Safety Data Sheets and records of training can be achieved by using an appropriate industry standard e-learning platform. At MedeHealth, we update the hazardous drugs register annually which involves carefully assessing the hazards that drugs may pose and updating any new information as it becomes available.
When dealing with medication, administering a tablet or capsule whole is the safest way for staff to minimise exposure, although swallowing difficulties in aged care recipients require many medicines to be crushed before they are administered. A good reference such as the “Australian Don’t Rush to Crush” handbook or “MedeCrush” (which is included with a subscription to MedeHealth) allows staff to identify which medications can be hazardous to both the care recipient and worker if crushed or dissolved.
How can I remain compliant with legislation in this area?
MedeHealth provides an online module titled Hazardous Substances (Oral Medication). Using MedeHealth ensures compliance by:
- Giving managers the ability to allocate the module to new and existing staff
- Monitoring, assessing and providing reports that display the percentage of staff who have (or are yet to) successfully complete the module
- Acting as a resource for the hazardous drugs register
- Providing a record of training for all staff
- Allowing the module to be ‘pushed’ to all staff to achieve 100% compliance by using the embedded reporting and tracking tools
- Providing an access point for continuing practice and staff development modules endorsed by the Royal College of Nursing, Australia
- Issuing a certificate of completion
- Ensuring that the module is updated with new drug information on a regular basis