Jane Fisher - Head of Health & Safety Services

To celebrate World Health and Safety Day, we spoke to Jane to find out more about how her role helps keep our staff safe.

Jane Fischer

What is your role and what does your role entail?

My job role is Head of Health and Safety services, within my role I manage three key services:

    • Health & Safety

    • Moving & Handling

    • FFP3 Resilience

I have a corporate role and I’m the senior competent person for health and safety (H&S) at UHS (as required under UK H&S law).

How long have you been with UHS and what was your career background? 

This time around I have been at UHS for nearly four years. I first worked at SUHT from 1995 to 2006; I was the Radiology Directorate’s H&S and Quality Coordinator, then moved to the Corporate H&S Team as Health & Safety Officer and the Trust’s first Moving & Handling Adviser. I subsequently worked in the education and charity sectors as H&S Manager and also provided a consultancy and training service to independent healthcare providers and companies in the light industry sector.

Is there a specific piece of equipment or technique that is used at UHS that helps you with your job?  

For me, the specific piece of equipment that helps me when doing my job is the camera on my phone. Being able to document with photographic evidence is very valuable! 

How do you help the trust stay safe?

Within my role, I play a part in helping the Trust to comply with its moral, economic and legal duties to ensure the health and safety of staff, patients and visitors. I write and review policies guidance and health and safety risk assessments, advise and guide the Execs and senior managers on legal aspects of workplace H&S requirements, and collaborate with other specialist teams such as Occupational Health, HR and Infection Prevention. I also support managers to investigate accidents and put local action plans in place to prevent accidents from reoccurring. I also support the Trust’s “No Excuse for Abuse” campaign and encourage staff to reports acts of abuse, violence and aggression

What is the environment like in your team?

We are a small, happy department of specialist advisers and trainers and we support staff to work safely so they do not get injured or harmed

What specialism did you study to land this role?

I didn’t study any speciality, as not many people intend to pursue a career in H&S! I started my career doing Pharmacy, then trained and worked as a Radiographer as I wanted to work in the NHS.

So, I have a medical background, which is quite unusual for an H&S Practitioner. I studied for specific H&S qualifications, have been a member of the Institution of Occupational Safety & Health (IOSH) for over 28 years and became a Chartered Member of IOSH and Chartered Safety Practitioner just over nine years ago.

To find out about how you can join the team, click here to find out about our open opportunities.