The one constant of legislation in the
healthcare sector covering both Health & Safety and Employment
Law is…there is no constant. The plethora of national and European
regulations in these fields means that it is, quite simply, a
full-time job to keep up with changes in legal requirements within
the healthcare sector.
This phenomenon is amplified in the
National Health Service (NHS), which traditionally has to cope with
powerful changes in direction as new Governments come to power with
their own set of policies for the organisation.
This makes it very difficult for
companies within the healthcare sector. They want to utilise their
skilled employees to best purpose rather than having to allocate
disproportionate resources to administrative tasks.
As a result, it can be all too easy
for healthcare organisations to drown in red tape while trying to
ensure that they comply with the rules.
That was the situation faced by
LivingCare Group. The company was founded in 1995 and re-branded
under its present title in 2002. Based in Yorkshire, it is a
regional pharmacy chain, with 15 outlets in both medical centres
and on the high street.
It will continue to expand the various
clinical services offered by its pharmacies and the diagnostic side
of its business to the NHS as well as to private patients.
This year, LivingCare Group will also
be setting up an independent-buying group called TIPS (Total
Independent Pharmacy Services). This will enable independent
pharmacies to gain access to improved trading terms with suppliers
as well as support in generating new business opportunities.
LivingCare Group engaged Mentor around
three years ago to help it tackle the increasing demands of
behind-the-scenes administration.
"We had some core skills in these
areas but we felt that with the way the company
was growing and the development of
Employment Law and Health & Safety, we needed a support
mechanism put in place," says Graeme Gould, LivingCare’s Director
of Operations.
“Although the company does not have a
major problem with staffing, it’s a case of knowing that if we need
advice, it is readily available. We also realised we needed a
comprehensive service which includes ensuring our employment
contracts and HR policies and procedures are fully up-to-date and
take account of the impact of UK and EU legal requirements.
“With our growing number of
pharmacies, we were also conscious that we needed help with
training for Health & Safety, with employees requiring training
to meet current and future protocols and guidelines.”
Casey Allen, Mentor Health &
Safety Consultant, was called in to audit LivingCare’s pharmacies
and to review their existing documentation.
“They have to operate a lot of
standard operating procedures set down by the Department of Health
and various regulatory bodies,” she says. “I improved their
documentation for Health & Safety and made the paperwork that
they do use easy to complete and less cumbersome than before.”
She also stepped in to provide a
guiding hand for a LivingCare staff member who had been tasked with
carrying out risk assessments.
Casey says: “This member of staff has
recently completed the IOSH Managing Safely Course. I will continue
to work closely with LivingCare Group to assist in reviewing new
risk assessments and making sure the level of detail in them is
correct.”
These assessments focused particularly
on LivingCare’s pharmacies – to review and implement Health &
Safety polices which included fire and security arrangements.
These activities gelled precisely with
Graeme’s wishes as to how LivingCare should conduct itself: “Using
Mentor, we put in place – and maintain – the Health & Safety
procedures that, as responsible employers, we should be offering
our employees.”
The ever-shifting ground rules
covering these areas require constant attention. He adds: “With
Mentor, you’ve only got to make one phone call, and you can speak
to an expert in Health & Safety or Employment Law. If we had to
put that capability into our own company, it would be quite an
expensive resource.”
He rates Mentor as “very useful
indeed. It’s a safety net.”
He says: “Knowing that a single phone
call can help deal with a staffing or Health & Safety issue
before it becomes a major problem is a considerable benefit to our
company."
“Even just having someone to talk to,
to confirm that LivingCare is on the right track with a solution it
is developing internally, is a great asset.”
If
you would like further information on how
NatWest
Mentor
can support your sector please click
here.
For details on
how
NatWest
Mentor could
help your business in situations like this and many
others, contact
us today. If you already subscribe
to Mentor, please call the Advice
Service.