Mansfield District Hospital

Corporate

Background

The Mansfield District Hospital was established and incorporated in 1876 to provide health services to the Mansfield district. The hospital converted the private midwifery wing, Bentley House, to an aged care residential facility and expanded its nursing home accommodation to 20 beds in 1975. A further 10 beds were added in 1996 and the nursing home was renamed Buckland House. In 2000 the Bindaree Retirement Centre amalgamated with the Mansfield District Hospital to provide hostel level care to the district's residents to integrate Mansfield's aged care services.

Today the Mansfield District Hospital is a 28 bed acute medical, surgical and obstetric hospital. Buckland House Nursing Home provides 30 beds for high level aged care while Bindaree adds a further dimension to the hospital's increasing role in caring for the elderly members of the local community with a total of 40 low care beds, including 11 dementia specific beds. Bindaree also has an 'Ageing in Place' program.

Statutory Objectives

Registered Objectives

• To ensure high standards of health care are consistent with the agreed clinical service level of the agency by provision of professional health care in medicine, surgery, obstetrics, geriatrics, paediatrics, accident and emergency medicine, community health and in paramedical services along with continuing review of the quality and adequacy of such services.
• To maintain responsible management of human, financial and other resources so that there can be a continuing program for quality improvement in facilities and equipment, as well as education programs to promote expertise and ensure optimal patient care.
• To promote a safe and healthy environment for patients, staff and visitors by means of education, promotion and continuing review of occupational health and safety issues.
• To be responsive to the total health care needs of the community by providing a base for community health support groups, community education and health promotion programs in cooperation with other community based health care providers.
• To introduce Quality Improvement Management strategies to monitor performance and coordinate and review all quality assurance activities, under the direction of the Board of Management.

Aged Care Objectives

• To ensure an effective quality management system is in place which is suitable and effective to meet the overalls aims of the Home and Hostel, the Department of Health & Aged Care and Commonwealth Outcome Standards.
• To value the right of residents and to treat them with dignity, respect and understanding and to offer them choices and give them the opportunity to develop their full potential in an atmosphere and environment designed to meet their individual needs.
• To continue to provide systems and processes where residents will be treated fairly and offered equal opportunity to develop and be listened to.
• To promote standards of comfort, safety and hygiene.
• To value the well being of the community it serves.

Organisational Chart

Download the Organisational Chart in PDF format.

Whistleblower Protection

Whistleblower Protection Act 2001

This hospital has adopted a procedure for managing disclosures made pursuant to this Act. There were no reports made under the Act in 2004/05.

The Mansfield District Hospital is committed to the aims of the Whistleblowers Protection Act 2001. It does not tolerate improper conduct by its employees, officers or members, nor the taking of reprisals against those who come forward to disclose such conduct.

The Mansfield District Hospital recognises the value of transparency and accountability in its administrative and management practices, and supports the making of disclosures that reveal corrupt conduct, conduct involving substantial mismanagement of public resources, or conduct involving a substantial risk to public health and safety or the environment.

The Mansfield District Hospital will take all reasonable steps to protect people who make such disclosures from any detrimental action in reprisal for making the disclosure. It will also afford natural justice to the person who is the subject of the disclosure.

Occupational Health and Safety

Policy and Commitment Statement
To ensure that the organization, and all staff employed by the organization, are clear with regards to their joint responsibilities for establishing and maintaining a healthy and safe environment for all patients, residents, clients, visitors and staff.

Chief Executive Statement
The Mansfield District Hospital has continued to demonstrate its commitment during the 2004-2005 year to providing a healthy and safe workplace for all.

Evidence of such commitment can be seen in the follow up actions in our Occupational Health and Safety action plan. This plan has been reviewed independently by our Internal Auditors, BDO, who regularly monitor the progress made in relation to follow up action.

The development of new OHS related policies and procedures, including Workplace Bullying and Occupational Rehabilitation are further evidence of our commitment to a safe workplace for all.

The Board of Management and Executive Team continue to work with staff to ensure a workplace culture, committed to occupational health and safety, is maintained and further developed. Not only it is our legal responsibility to provide a safe workplace, it is our moral responsibility to protect all persons working in or visiting our establishments.

Managing Occupational Health & Safety
Our organization has a number of systems and processes in place to manage occupational health and safety in the workplace. These include, but are not limited to:

• hazard identification and reporting system
• incident / accident identification and reporting system
• internal audit system
• occupational health and safety action plan
• occupational health and safety committee
• occupational health and safety representatives
• designated safety officer
• document control system
• education and training program
• trend analysis of relevant OHS data
• management review committee
• risk assessment and management system
• workplace assessments

The Occupational Health and Safety Committee, in conjuction with the Quality and Risk Managers, systematically assess, report, eliminate or control hazards and risks through the systems and processes identified above on a monthly basis. Where a hazard or risk poses an immediate threat, the Quality or Risk Manager will initiate action without the approval of the OHS Committee in order to ensure the safety of staff, patients, residents, clients or visitors. Other hazards and risks are discussed by the OHS committee (which has representation from all departments within the organization) to devise strategies to effect positive outcomes. These processes also help us to assess occupational health and safety in the workplace.

Training and Staff Induction
All new employees are required to undergo occupational health and safety training relevant to their areas as part of their orientation program. Programs may include fire and evacuation training, No Lift training, equipment training and emergency procedures. Staff handbooks, which are given to staff prior to commencement of employment, also detail the employee's responsibilities in relation to occupational health and safety. Handbooks also include a copy of the organization's OHS policy and procedure. This year a new OHS checklist was developed for the staff orientation program.

OHS safety representatives have undertaken formal training through an approved training provider and will be attending an update, following the introduction of changes to OHS legislation on the 1 July 2005 , prior to the end of the year.

Statistical Indicators
Currently we collect data for statistical purposes on workplace incidents, the number of worker's compensation claims made, and trends in worker's compensation costs and premiums. These trends are reported through our Management Review Committee which meets on a bi-annual basis and has formal representation from all departments, including the Board of Management.

Incidents
All incidents within the organization are documented, analysed and action is implemented. Trends on all types of incidents and accidents are reported regularly to the Occupational Health and Safety Committee monthly meetings. Trends are also reported bi-annually to Management Review meetings. Where trends indicate that there may be a problem, further analysis is undertaken to establish if there is a ‘real' or ‘perceived' problem. A close watch is kept on these statistics to ascertain if action taken to correct or reverse the trend has been effective. This year, the organization purchased a software system designed to capture incident data in systematic fashion; this system allows for the data to be converted into numerical forms to enable trend analysis to be undertaken easily.

Environmental Monitoring
Legionella testing of the tepid water system is undertaken regularly. Procedures have also been developed to ‘flush' water systems out to ensure no bacterial growth occurs within the water system.

Mansfield Hospital does not have any cooling towers that may be affected by Legionella.

Contribution by Employees
The organization operates a ‘suggestion for improvement' process: this enables all staff members to offer suggestions for improvements in the area of occupational health and safety. While we have many ‘formal' processes in place to enable employees to contribute to improving and managing the occupational health and safety system, the hospital still maintains an ‘open-door' policy to Executive Management for staff who have any concerns about the workplace environment.

Compliments / complaints

Mansfield Hospital has a complaints policy and you can fill out our Feedback Form to register a complaint, compliment, comment or suggestion. You are also welcome to contact the organisation directly to speak to someone in person on 5775 2111. Alternatively, you can email us, or contact us through the contact page.