A range of initiatives is strengthening the safety and wellbeing of frontline staff across Logan and Beaudesert Health Service.
Improved security, faster emergency alerts and enhanced support are just some initiatives established to help create safer workplaces.
In Logan Hospital’s Emergency Department, a specialist team continues to have a positive impact on the prevention of occupational violence.
Working to identify potential risks sooner, supporting staff during challenging situations and helping prevent incidents from escalating, Occupational Violence Emergency Response Team (OVERT) members like Hannah Bailey are leading the charge.
The Clinical Nurse Consultant said she was passionate about her role to keep her colleague's safe and was relying on her experience in critical care and leadership when responding to situations.
"The team’s approach is also supported by specialist training designed to help members safely manage incidents of occupational violence and respond consistently," she said. "We undertake training in situational awareness, verbal de-escalation, safe administration of medication, intoxication, suicide risk, unacceptable behaviour framework, searching of patients, delirium and dementia care.
"We work closely and collaboratively with our ED multi-disciplinary team, Queensland Ambulance Service, Safety and Response Team, and the Queensland Police Service at the Logan Hospital Police Beat and utilise all opportunities to continuously look for areas for improvement."
OVERT Clinical Nurse Consultants (CNCs) also assist with Code Black responses across the wider hospital, extending their expertise beyond the ED and providing staff with an extra layer of support.
"We are able to provide an experienced perspective into management of code blacks and advocate for them in escalation of patient care and staff safety, which has been very well received," Hannah said.
Following an initial 12-month trial, ongoing funding for OVERT was announced in July 2025, recognising the importance of continued work to improve safety in the ED.
The team is one part of a broader commitment to staff safety across Logan and Beaudesert Health Service (LBHS). Other measures at Logan Hospital include additional Safety and Response Officers in vulnerable areas, increased security and hospital ambassador presence, CCTV, personal and fixed duress alarms, and body-worn cameras for security staff.
Logan Hospital has also introduced MSH Notify, a system that delivers critical safety alerts directly to Queensland Health desktops, laptops and Workstations on Wheels. The system helps ensure staff receive important information about incidents, evacuations, lockdowns and major disruptions to essential clinical systems.
The onsite Logan Hospital Precinct Police Beat has further strengthened the partnership between Queensland Health and Queensland Police Service, improving police visibility across the hospital grounds. While separate from the Occupational Violence Prevention Program, it contributes to the safety of the broader hospital environment.
Occupational Violence Committee Lead for LBHS Jacqueline Smith said staff wellbeing was an important part of the health service’s approach to staff safety, with clinical supervision available to the nursing and midwifery cohorts.
"Clinical supervision is a known reflective resilience-based proactive program available for nurses and midwives' wellbeing and psychological safety and is proven in evidence-based research to be a key foundational mechanism for reducing workplace stress and burnout,” she said.
Hannah said while progress had been made in managing and preventing occupational violence, the experiences of frontline staff highlighted the importance of continuing to improve safety.
"We need to keep working together to make our workplaces safer for everyone who walks through our doors," she said.