Management

Management

Organisation

a) Overview

The University Court has ultimate responsibility for overseeing health, safety and wellbeing matters at the University and the Principal has overall responsibility for the implementation of the University Policy on this.

The Head of the School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition has overall responsibility for Health, Safety and Wellbeing matters in their School and individual Institutes within the School. However, for activities undertaken within the Institute of Medical Sciences, the management of Health, Safety and Wellbeing is delegated to the Director of the Institute of Medical Sciences and the Convenor and Lead Safety Coordinator of the IMS Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee. Although the task of managing Health, Safety and Wellbeing matters is delegated to others, the Head of School will retain overall responsibility for Health, Safety and Wellbeing matters as required by the University Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy.

Chain of responsibilities for safety management in the IMS

Note: Technicians are shown as having dual lines of reporting. Responsibility for Health and Safety rests with the PI/Supervisor when they are working in the laboratory but with the Team Leader when undertaking IMS duties such as providing a service for the IMS.

Authority is delegated to the Director of the Institute of Medical Sciences and the Convenor of the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee for those activities undertaken in the laboratories and associated offices in the following areas:

IMS building
Biomedical Physics Building
Children's Hospital
Health Sciences Building
Liberty Building
Lilian Sutton Building
Maternity Hospital
PET Centre
Polwarth Building
Regional Transfusion Centre

Note: Health and Safety is not the responsibility of those who have "Health" and/or "Safety" in their job titles. The IMS Safety Coordinators are able to provide advice and assistance to line managers and supervisors who have the primary direct role in Health, Safety and Wellbeing matters.

b) Responsibilities of the Director of the IMS

The IMS Director will:

develop, implement and maintain an effective Health, Safety and Wellbeing management system which is appropriate for the Institute and which meets the requirements of the University Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy;
provide a Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy for the Institute and, in consultation with the Head of School, ensure provision of resources necessary to implement the Policy;
in consultation with the Head of School, appoint local Safety Coordinators to provide advice and assistance with Health, Safety and Wellbeing matters;
set up a Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee and appoint a Convenor to keep under review the Health, Safety and Wellbeing arrangements in the Institute, to make recommendations for improvements and to provide a forum for discussion of Health, Safety and Wellbeing issues; and
bring to the notice of the Head of School any Health, Safety and Wellbeing problem which is not resolved in a timescale commensurate with the level of risk.

c) Responsibilities of Group Leaders/Principal Investigators

Group Leaders/Principal Investigators are responsible for implementing the IMS Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy in their areas of control. In implementing the Policy, they will:

ensure that all hazards creating significant risks are identified and that necessary steps are taken to reduce the risks to acceptable levels;
ensure that necessary Health, Safety and Wellbeing training is provided for all staff and students in their control to ensure their competence in safety critical activities;
ensure that necessary supervision is provided for all staff and students in their control;
ensure that all premises and equipment in their area of control are maintained in an acceptable condition; and
make arrangements to monitor whether staff and students in their areas of control are complying with the IMS Health, Safety and Wellbeing arrangements.

d) Responsibilities of all Supervisors

Postdoctoral staff and postgraduate students undertaking supervisory roles will:

ensure that all staff and students under their control work in accordance with IMS procedures.

e) Responsibilities of all staff and students

All staff and students must:

co-operate and comply with the Health, Safety and Wellbeing arrangements put in place by the IMS Director;
do all they can to ensure that their activities do not pose a risk to others;
if they are aware of something which they believe is unsafe, either take immediate steps to make it safe or bring it to the attention of a person who can do something about it;
if they become aware of deficiencies in the IMS Health, Safety and Wellbeing arrangements, bring these deficiencies to the attention of their immediate supervisor; and
not interfere with, or misuse, anything provided for reasons of Health, Safety and Wellbeing.

f) Responsibilities of IMS Local Safety Coordinators

Local Safety Coordinators in the IMS will:

maintain an up-to-date understanding of the type of work and safety risks of the work in their charge and visit each lab on a regular basis to speak with staff;
introduce themselves to new staff and students and instil approachability;
provide advice to the Convenor of the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee and to all members of the School on Health, Safety and Wellbeing matters;
undertake inspections of the IMS activities as commissioned by the Director of the IMS;
liaise with the Central Health and Safety Team, on all matters relating to Health, Safety and Wellbeing within the IMS and to communicate these to the Convenor of the IMS Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee as appropriate.

g) Arrangements for dealing with Health, Safety and Wellbeing concerns

It is expected that Health, Safety and Wellbeing concerns will be resolved by discussions within the IMS. An individual member of staff or a student should discuss initially with their line manager/supervisor or with an IMS Safety Coordinator. If the matter is not resolved in this way it should be brought to the attention of their Head of School.

h) IMS Safety Committee Meetings

Regular meetings of the IMS Safety Committee, chaired by the appointed Convenor or their Deputy, will address Health, Safety and Wellbeing matters. The remit of this committee is to:

advise the IMS Director on Health, Safety and Wellbeing matters and to recommend actions required to improve Health, Safety and Wellbeing within the IMS;
produce a Safety Handbook for the IMS and to monitor compliance with the procedures in the Handbook; and
provide a forum for discussion of Health, Safety and Wellbeing issues and to provide uniformity in advice throughout the IMS.

Particular matters that the Committee will consider include:

reports on Health, Safety and Wellbeing inspections of the facilities;
reports of all accidents and near misses;
the Health, Safety and Wellbeing content of training for staff and students; and
Health, Safety and Wellbeing information provided for staff and students and its communication.

If any student or member of staff has a matter they wish the committee to discuss they should contact their immediate supervisor, an IMS Safety Coordinator or one of the members of the IMS Safety Committee.