Bethany lives at one of our Ripon services, and she feels very strongly about health and safety and making sure all the health and safety checks are completed in her service. As the World Day of Health and Safety is approaching (April 28th), we spoke to Bethany about what good Health and Safety means to her.
Bethany, why is health and safety so important to you?
I have been part of the Health and Safety Circle for years. I have been part of this Circle with Jill, Eve, Matt, and now me and Gary. The Circle meeting usually occurs on Tuesdays, roughly around every quarter. It is important to me as being part of the Circle allows me to see people from different regions like Harrogate, Ripon, and Northallerton. I then do weekly briefs to keep everyone updated, and talk to them about the importance of health and safety, that the checks we do are to keep us safe and that the law says we must do it. Like during Covid the government said we had to isolate, stay at our houses and wear masks, and it isn’t the staff being mean!
What made you want to be involved with the checks?
I like to do the checks because it is my home and I know it is safe. In my group I tell them how I do my own checks, and everyone has a different job to do, hoping they can get together and do their checks too. Before we visited a Crucial Crew Workshop where they spoke to us about different hazards, this inspired me to do the checks in the house that I learnt from the Workshop.
Is there anything you would like to share with the rest of The Trust?
I now have a work email address where people can ask me about health and safety or other queries. I have been to Northallerton and showed others how to do their fire checks. I encourage others to be involved, as it makes me feel comfortable knowing my home is safe for me and my family. I have been able to go to various other services in The Trust to talk about health and safety – it is nice to go and see people!