Portland District Health Annual Report 2008 - South West Alliance of ...

Harbourside Lodge staff Graduate Nurse Sarah Guo and
environmental services assistant Julie Lipscombe
AUTHORISED DELEGATIONS
Another element in building internal controls focussed
on the Instrument of Delegation, with the board
approving a revised Instrument of Delegation in line
with the board’s Operational Limitations Policy.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH REVIEW
Portland District Health’s WorkCover costs and injury
rates have previously been at an unacceptable level.
This year’s premium rose from $345,481 to $478,431.
2005/06 2006/07 2007/08
No of claims 8 16 4
Cost of claims $378,315 $761,332 $96,370
Days lost 251 1087 192
Portland District Health’s average premium is 2.54%
compared to an industry rate of 1.5%. The injury claims
are predominantly due to back, upper arm and stress
issues, with stress and upper arm injuries representing
the highest percentage of total claims.
A number of actions were initiated during the year to
raise the profile of Portland District Health’s WorkCover
performance:
• A more active injury management and return-to-work
program;
• A greater emphasis on a safe environment for staff
and patients;
• A review of Portland District Health’s occupational
health by Dr Cathy Woolner;
• JTA Corporation corporate consultants commissioned
to review our WorkCover claims history; and
• CGU Insurance undertook a claims review.
Returning To Work
When you’re injured, returning to work can be
a problem.
Danelle Pearce has helped many people from
Portland District Health do that through offering
them new challenges.
“This is really starting to pay off,” her nominee
for June’s Employee of the Month said.
The WorkCover Officer and Payroll Assistant
started working at
Portland District Health
four years ago.
Work cover can be a
very frustrating job, but
Danelle does not often let
this get the better of her.
“Danelle also has a
good rapport with our
WorkCover insurers, and
I feel they also respect her view and opinions,”
the nominee added.
Danelle decided to take on the role when she
wanted to try something new, and the gamble
turned out to be worthwhile.
She said she enjoys working in an organisation
the size of Portland District Health, where she
can “work with all levels of the organisation,”
and gets out of bed each day because she has
the opportunity to meet people from a wide
range of departments.
“Hopefully I can help get them back to work
following an injury,” she said.
These actions have delivered a reduced number of
claims, and significantly decreased their cost and the
number of working days lost.
14 Portland District Health