He believes that his award “reflects on a lot of the good work that management and staff have contributed as well.” He shared some of his return to work secrets with RTW Matters.

Fanol described how “the organisation’s done a lot of work around health and safety and health and wellbeing, and that all this has culminated into getting good results on sustained return to work and bringing  a change in the culture in the way staff view the organisation. I suppose this has been the catalyst for a lot of the work and recognition.”

Fanol began working with the organisation in 2010 when the RTW and WHS role was brought in-house rather than continuing to outsource to an external organisation.

He believes that one of the important aspects of his role is to acknowledge that injury in the workplace exist, and that injured workers shouldn’t feel like they are using the system to help themselves. Instead, it’s about acknowledging that they have had a work related injury and that the organisation stands strong on supporting those injured workers, and where appropriate with a sustained return to work plan. 

He looks at what workers can do rather than what they can’t do, then reviews the tasks in the workplace to see whether they can give the worker the opportunity to do those tasks in connection with their return to work plan. Certainly, in a large organisation, more scope is available for finding alternate tasks if required. 

Another part of his role is to educate managers and supervisors to understand that they may not always have a fully fit workforce, particularly in Aged Care, the bulk of workers are middle aged between 40- 50 years. It’s about supporting injured workers and finding them employment in the same or another area of the organisation and where appropriate reviews the duties and if necessary by agreement modifies those duties to help the worker continue to work, whether it be for the short, medium or long term.

He also provides advocacy for injured workers. He doesn’t want them to be sitting at home by themselves without anyone supporting them. He encourages injured staff to contact him frequently, and certainly contacts them as well. He finds out if any additional support is needed, and encourages workers to outline the progress that they are making. This then provides Fanol with an understanding of the workers’ capabilities.

He finds that the main areas of risk in aged care and care homes include musculoskeletal injuries, falls, as well as impacts from the behaviour of clients, relatives and other visitors.

They have mandatory training in particular for manual handling as part of Certification Day and staff are assessed for competency. In the aged care homes, they have lifting machines, slings, slide sheets, and are investing in overhead hoists. In terms of home care, it’s more challenging as the client funds a lot of the modifications to the residence. Case managers may make recommendations, and the client may be eligible for funding to have some of those modifications paid for. If not, then the organisation needs to look at whether they can provide the care in a safe manner to the client, taking into account the safety of the staff. Due to the dangers of home care, it’s very important for staff to follow protocols to avoid harm to themselves or their client.

The age demographic of aged care is acknowledged to be quite high, but Fanol noted that the age bracket (40+, often females) relate to clients better and have more experience. They also have the skills matrix to be able to complete their tasks in a safe manner. 

In addition, they run health and wellbeing programs, including the encouragement for sites to have a health and wellbeing day and during WorkSafe Week they encourage sites to have health and wellbeing activities with rewards for staff. There might be a quiz around safety for example. They also have projects around risk, health eating and exercise. They also have exercise programs with professional organisations supporting the program and an annual pedometer challenge for teams of five to participate and the winning team receive a prize. They encourage healthy eating by having breakfast sessions, and encourage staff to have morning tea to celebrate special occasions, making sure that fruit and other healthy food is available. 

He believes that as an RTW Co-ordinator, “You need to value the employee and you need to appreciate employee injury are genuine and work-related. You need to actually show that you’re supporting the worker,” Fanol said. “…I think that it’s important that you treat staff with the respect that they deserve. You need to actually work with them. You need to consult with them. You need to genuinely provide that support and not just by sending letters, but also being in contact with them regularly to see how they’re doing and what else they might need in the way of support. Also, if the staff do need support and it’s something that the claims agent needs to provide, then get on the front foot with the claims agent on behalf of the worker and make sure that they’re addressing those issues for the staff member as well.”

“That face to face meeting, talking, consulting and support is really the element. I think if you can demonstrate those and show that there’s a culture of support to the workers in the workplace, I think that you’ll generally find that they come on board and understand their obligations and they fulfil those obligations.”

NOTE:

Villa Maria and Catholic Homes have recently announced a merger, and from the 1st of July 2015, it will be known as Villa Maria Catholic Homes. They’re currently integrating services and packages into the one organisation. Many staff have begun referring to the organisation as Villa Maria Catholic Homes as part of the integration. The combined organisation will include aged care, community packages and disability, including schools and retirement villages and independent living units.