Staff safety, wellbeing and development

Recognised as a serious workplace issue, bullying causes distress and injury to staff through repeated and unreasonable behaviour towards an individual or group. It can result in:

• staff performance issues
• increased staff absenteeism
• increased incidents of staff attending work when they’re not fit to do so (sometimes called staff presenteeism)
• high staff turnover.

One of your OH&S/WHS obligations as an employer is to have:

• a workplace bullying and harassment policy
• reporting and response procedures.

Studies indicate that approximately 60% of Australia's GPs and their practice teams experience some form of patient-initiated violence each year. The most prevalent form of this violence is verbal/written aggression, followed by property damage and theft, physical assault, sexual harassment and stalking.

As an employer, you have responsibilities under OH&S/WHS legislation to protect staff by identifying and controlling risks associated with all forms of occupational violence.

If you have employees, you are legally required to have workers compensation insurance
The Fair Work Ombudsman defines workers compensation as:

“a form of insurance payment to employees if they are injured at work or become sick due to their work. Workers compensation includes payments to employees to cover their wages while they're not fit for work. medical expenses and rehabilitation.”

Each state and territory has its own workers compensation legislation. Details for each jurisdiction can be found at the Safe Work Australia website.

Return-to-work processes

As an employer, you are legally obliged to have appropriate return-to-work processes for employees who experience a work-related injury or illness that prevents them coming to work for a period of time.

Each state and territory has its own return-to-work scheme. Details for each jurisdiction can be found at the Safe Work Australia website.  

Although working in general practice can be rewarding and fulfilling, it can also be challenging and stressful.

As an employer, you should encourage clinical and non-clinical staff to schedule time for self-care. This could include taking leave when it is due, seeking professional help when stressed, and using effective strategies to relax such as meditation, exercise, and yoga.

Beyond Blue’s Health Services Program includes a practical guide for health services to develop and implement a tailored mental health and wellbeing strategy to support their staff.

Staff vaccinations

Healthcare workers have an increased risk of acquiring some vaccine-preventable diseases. Refer to the Australian Immunisation Handbook to identify recommended vaccinations for healthcare workers.

Training and development

Training and development that is useful and targeted can improve staff’s performance, engagement and competency.

Many practices have a policy that clearly articulates:

• the non-mandatory training available in the practice, and externally
• which type of training the practice will pay for, and up to what value each year
• a requirement for an employee to reimburse the practice for training costs if they resign within a specified period (eg a year) after completing the training. 

Clinical staff

Because clinical staff have obligations relating to their ongoing professional development, you must identify how you will ensure that clinical staff meet these obligations, and how you will support them to do so.

You could also consider facilitating in-house training for your clinical staff. 

Non-clinical staff

You must also support relevant education and training of your non-clinical staff, in areas such as:

• Medical:
  • CPR and first aid
  • medical terminology
  • medical practice reception
• Administrative:
  • your practice’s policies and procedures (eg privacy and confidentiality, OH&S/WHS)
  • use of technology (hardware, software and other systems)
  • safe operation of specific equipment
• Special needs:
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural awareness
  • communicating with patients with special needs
  • cross-cultural safety

Good work is good for you. How our work is designed impacts the way we feel and can influence our motivation, engagement and stress levels at work. 

Evidence shows that good work design can prevent harm to worker health, promote health and wellbeing and support participation and productivity. 

The Australian Government's Comcare has developed guidance on designing 'good work' with evidence-based Good Work Design resources that can help general practices create psychologically safe team and better manage psychosocial risks in your practice.