As part of July’s Hazard of the Month, Weather, we’re highlighting two key areas: Alcohol and Drug Awareness & Legionella.
Alcohol and Drug Awareness
During the summer months, it is often observed that there is an increased alcohol and recreational drug use. There are a number of reasons this could be – including more opportunities (such as attending parties or festivals), more free time, and a ‘holiday’ attitude, with the idea that they’ll stop once they go back to normality.
The misuse of drugs and alcohol poses a serious risk to individuals, both in their personal lives, affecting their physical and mental health, but also at work.
The use of these substances can impair reflexes and functions, leading to an increased risk of accidents occurring, causing harm to themselves and potentially others around them.
They can also cause lateness, absenteeism, and dramatically impact productivity.
It is important that employers understand their responsibilities and the actions they should take when dealing with substance abuse issues in the workplace. Equally, employees should understand the dangers of alcohol or drug use in or around the workplace, as well as in their personal lives.
By ensuring that staff on all levels are educated on the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse, you can foster an improved safety culture in the workplace.
After completing this course, users should:
- Understand the dangers of drug and alcohol use in a both their personal and professional lives.
- Understand and implement employer responsibilities in keeping their workplace free from drugs or alcohol misuse.
- Understand the laws and regulations regarding substance misuse in the workplace.
- Be able to deal with substance abusers both safely and appropriately.
Make sure your workforce have an awareness of the risks posed by alcohol and drug misuse, and how to address them with our Alcohol and Drug Awareness Online Training. This course is suitable for employees at all levels within an organisation. Get 10% off this course with the code ‘summer10’!
Legionella
The warmth of summer brings with it an increased risk of Legionnaires’ disease, a potentially fatal form of pneumonia that is caught by inhaling droplets of water that contains legionella bacteria.
Legionella bacteria develops in water, and requires a temperature range from 20-45°C in order to thrive, making it much more common in the summer when bodies of water are warmer.
Additionally, during the summer months places such as schools, universities, and accommodations are often vacant, meaning that water systems are left alone to stagnate, and may not be treated properly to eliminate the bacteria.
Another issue that may arise in the summer months is an uptick in staff absences due to holidays. This could mean that fewer staff are available to monitor and maintain safe levels of protection in the water system.
These problems are compounded by the fact that during the summer, water applications are used more frequently – air conditioning units, cooling towers, swimming pools and garden hoses all see greater use once the weather gets warmer.
Therefore, it is vital that those who carry out water management tasks and those who are responsible for protecting an organisation from legionella, understand:
- What legionella is, and symptoms of Legionnaire’s disease.
- The conditions in which legionella bacteria grows.
- Employer responsibilities for safeguarding health, safety and welfare for employees and the public.
- Medical help that may be required if an incident arises.
- The importance of regular legionella risk assessments.
Ensure you and your staff understand how to manage the risk of legionella bacteria with our Legionella Online Training. Get 10% off this course with the code ‘summer10’!
Alcohol and Drug Awareness & Legionella training courses are essential tools in reducing the risk of these health and safety hazards. Make sure you don’t miss out on our 10% off deal on these courses, available until the end of July. Simply enter the code ‘summer10’ at checkout to save!
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