h & s on home visits- but not te usual physical abuse

Re: h & s on home visits- but not te usual physical abuse

Malcolm Ness — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 13:17:57 GMT

[quote user="Bob Russell"]Clearly you could be seen as negligent if you sent someone with this history to a known high risk house. [/quote]

If negligence was all that came your way on the back of a complaint arising from this scenario, you could count yourself extremely lucky. You are at risk from all kinds of employment, H and S, and disability discrimination legislation with a financial risk running into hundreds of thousands of pounds. Thankfully, most veterinary employees are sensible and pragmatic but every now and then an employer gets taken to the cleaners - and don't imagine that being "nice" and applying "common sense" will get you anywhere. Be careful; be very, very careful.

Re: h & s on home visits- but not te usual physical abuse

Stephen Courtney — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 22:20:48 GMT

I had forgotten that people have different triggers - my bad - but i would still check he has had a recent review and he discusses this incident with the practice nurse ( who should know more about how to manage this than his GP if mine is anything to go by!)

I was staggered at how bad my asthma had got with me not realising - i was blasting through 2 ventolins in 3 weeks and thought i was OK. Seretide has changed my life and probably saved my career.

Re: h & s on home visits- but not te usual physical abuse

Bob Russell — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 15:20:18 GMT

One of our nurses has a similar problem. As our exposure to cigarette smoke decreases in general the worse it seems to trigger asthma.

Clearly you could be seen as negligent if you sent someone with this history to a known high risk house. Not really a risk you can easily predict but once a problem has arisen you have to react!

Re: h & s on home visits- but not te usual physical abuse

Harriet Nicholson — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 15:07:48 GMT

As another asthmatic I thought I would add my thoughts I hope you don't mind. I have well controlled asthma, only really flaring when I have a concurrent chest infection but I find that cigarette smoke is a particular trigger for me and I cannot be around smokers and definitely not in the same enclosed airspace so I don't necessarily think that it means your assistant isn't well controlled. Some asthmatics for example find perfumes set them off, everyone's triggers are different, could it be arranged that this assistant doesn't do future visits to that house?

Re: h & s on home visits- but not te usual physical abuse

Stephen Courtney — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 21:19:22 GMT

Home visits can be an absolute minefield of unexpected hazards - faeces, fleas, clutter, gloom, tobacco smoke, drunken occupants, loud TVs, moronic teenage kids, moronic parents....

If I was struggling to breathe i would leave, explaining I was asthmatic ( which i am ). Frankly though i have worse problems with rabbits and chinchillas (and horses are a no go area totally)

If your vet was so badly affected it would suggest his asthma is poorly controlled and he needs to get that sorted out. As an employer you have the right to insists he goes for a review - This was done for me when i was struggling and it was a life changer - there are some excellent new products that should be able to improve quality of life considerably.

Re: h & s on home visits- but not te usual physical abuse

Jo Dyer — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 14:57:16 GMT

This was actually raised as an issue by at least one person signing the petition; I had never thought of it.

I really do think that employers need to do a risk assessment regarding sending their employees out to clients' homes, after all we are obliged to do RA's for everything else in practice, however trivial!

At the Standards meeting I was told that H and S unequivocally trumps RCVS Code and Guidance.

Re: h & s on home visits- but not te usual physical abuse

Martin Atkinson — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 14:34:17 GMT

There is no law against smoking in your own home so I guess the onus is on you to provide an alternative method of examining this cat if the assistant cannot (quite reasonably) do so because of a particular health problem and a house-call essential under the new guidelines. Clearly neither of the incidents illustrated were on essential house-calls so it is your call if you pass up the business if they can't/won't attend the surgery.

I have in the past told the odd client to stop smoking while I was actually examining their pet on a home visit and they have complied and apologised, didn't stop me coming out smelling like and ash tray though!

The best one I had was a call out to a cat in a house fire. I got there before the ambulance arrived for the owner (which says something in itself) and the firemen had resuscitated them both with their breathing apparatus. When the ambulance finally arrived the smoke dried old bat lit up a fag and the paramedic didn't stop her, I suggested she may have already had enough smoke for the day. Cat did well don't know about the owner!!