Review the mortuary work health and safety procedures

You are the acting Mortuary Manager preparing a safety review for the General Manager.

Simulated workplaceAdvanced missionCAQA Everlasting Funeral Services

This mission touches on a mature theme. It is fictional. If it brings up something hard for you, you can stop at any time and talk to someone you trust.

What is going on

In the last fortnight the Bayswater mortuary has recorded a cavity fluid splash above a glove cuff and a lower back strain from moving a bariatric deceased without the hoist, the second manual handling injury this year. Helen Castellano has asked for a review of the mortuary safety procedures before the quarterly safety committee on 6 October. The mortuary has a hoist and bariatric trolley in the fleet register, extended cuff gloves on order, a chemical register that is due for its six-monthly review and a team of seven who feel the first-call and viewing deadlines drive shortcuts. The safety committee will want to see consultation, not just a rewritten document.

Helen Castellano, General Manager
Subject: Review of mortuary safety procedures after last week's injury

The back strain in the mortuary on 9 September is the second manual handling injury this year and the exposure incident on 3 September shows our glove rule needs work. I want a review of the mortuary WHS procedures before the safety committee on 6 October. Work with Priyanka, use the incident register, the infection control policy, the chemical register and the toolbox talk records, consult the mortuary team, and bring me a marked-up procedure with the changes you recommend and a training plan. This is also your chance to show me how you would supervise the team.

Your brief

Analyse the incident register and related records, consult the mortuary team, and produce a marked-up set of mortuary WHS procedure changes, a supervision and training plan and a short report that the General Manager can take to the safety committee.

Work through it

You do not need to do it all. Doing a few of these will show you what the work is like. Your ticks and notes stay on this device.

Read the WHS policy, the infection control policy and the hazardous chemicals register, and extract every mortuary incident and hazard from the WHS incident register for the past quarter.
Analyse the two recent incidents for root causes, considering equipment availability, time pressure, PPE specification, training currency and supervision, and rate the residual risk for each.
Run a toolbox talk with the mortuary team using the toolbox talk record template, capture the issues the team raise in their own words and record the actions agreed.
Draft the procedure changes as tracked marks against the infection control policy and the manual handling section of the WHS policy, using must and will language, including a mandatory hoist rule and a glove specification.
Review the chemical register entries for the cavity and arterial fluids, confirm the safety data sheets are current and the extraction controls are recorded, and note any gap.
Prepare a training and supervision plan covering hoist competence sign-off, PPE observation, formaldehyde exposure monitoring and how you will supervise the team through the change.
Update the WHS incident register entries for both incidents with the corrective actions, owners and due dates, and set the review dates.
Write a two-page report for the General Manager summarising findings, the changes, the consultation held and the resources you are requesting.

My notes: what did I enjoy, and what surprised me?

What someone in this role would produce

Incident analysis with root causes and residual risk ratings
Marked-up procedure changes
Toolbox talk record with the team's issues and agreed actions
Training and supervision plan
Report to the General Manager for the safety committee

Printing this is a record of what you explored. It is not a certificate or a qualification.