This is for the direct benefit of all Institute personnel and is a legal requirement of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005 and associated legislation. The Health & Safety Office provides advice and guidance on all issues relating to safety, health and welfare at the Institute. If you would like more information on any issue relating to health and safety, or cannot find what you are looking for on this site, please contact the Health & Safety Officer.
Institute Safety Statements
It is the objective of ATU Donegal to provide a safe place of work for its employees, students, contractors and visitors and for all of those affected by its activities. To ensure this requirement is achieved the Institute has developed Safety Statement. It is important that employees carefully read the documents and their revisions to ensure that they have read and understood the safety statement.
The Safety Statement is based on the principle that health and safety can be managed, since accidents and diseases are foreseeable and can usually be prevented. It is a commitment to comply with all the relevant health and safety legislation.
ATU Donegal has prepared a Parent Safety Statement describing management’s safety programme and employee co-operation. Due to the diverse working activities of the Institute this Parent Safety Statement is not a stand-alone document but is used in conjunction with Ancillary Safety Statements for each school or functional area.
Procedures
Letterkenny Institute of Technology have developed these Procedure documents to be adopted throughout the Institute. These procedures have been proposed, adopted and promoted by the Institutes Health and Safety Committee to meet specific legal requirements not addressed in the confines of the Parent Safety Statement or Ancillary Safety Statements. The Procedure documents will be brought to the attention of every employee by the Heads of School/Function. Each employee is expected to read the Procedure documents and be familiar with their content.
First Aid
Letterkenny IT has trained a number of staff members as occupational first aiders who are also qualified to use the on campus defibrillators.
First aiders can be contacted at:
Letterkenny campus by dialling:
6007 from an internal phone or from a mobile 074 – 9186007
Killybegs campus by dialling:
6610 or from a mobile 074 – 9186610.
If the injury is more serious or severity of the injury cannot be determined then call for an ambulance and the emergency services immediately on 112 or 999.
Defibrillators
Letterkenny Institute of Technology provides Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) at various locations throughout its Letterkenny and Killybegs Campus. These AEDs will make early defibrillation available to students, staff, visitors and contractors who may experience sudden cardiac arrest. The AED are designed to be user friendly, however AEDs must only be used by appropriately trained first aiders.
WHAT IS AN AED ?
An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is used to treat victims who experience sudden cardiac arrest. The AED guides the trained user through the steps of defibrillation. The AED must only be used when a victim is unconscious, has no detectable pulse and is not breathing. It is designed to analyse a heart rhythm and then advise the trained personnel if a shockable rhythm is detected, the AED will charge to the appropriate energy level and advise the trained user to deliver a shock by pushing a button on the unit.
Location of AED's
Letterkenny Campus:
1. Main building at the main reception desk in wall mounted case.
2. An Dánlann at the main reception desk in wall mounted case.
3. CoLab across from the main reception desk in wall mounted case.
KillyBegs Campus:
1. Main Building in wall mounted case at the main reception.
Fire Safety
The Letterkenny Institute of Technology has developed a Fire and Emergency management procedure to safeguard and protect the building users and campus from fire or other campus wide emergencies that require building evacuation.
A fire safety management programme has been undertaken by the Institute to guard against the outbreak of fire and to ensure as far as is reasonably practicable the safety of persons on the premises in the event of outbreak of fire.
Fire Instruction Notices are posted in prominent areas throughout the Institute advising all building occupants of the emergency escape procedures.
Fire And Emergency Procedure
Fire Instruction Notice
On discovering a fire
- Sound the alarm by activating the nearest alarm call point.
- Inform staff of the location of the fire.
- Leave the premises immediately using the nearest available exit. Follow the directional Exit Signs.
- Obey the instructions of staff.
On hearing the fire alarm bell sound
- Leave the premises immediately using the nearest available exit. Follow the directional Exit Signs
- Obey the instructions of staff.
- Report to the nearest Assembly point.
Note: Intermittent Alarm Bell = Test or Alert status only (in Letterkenny Campus only)
Do not:
- Do not use the lift.
- Do not rush.
- Do not re-enter the premises.
Incident Reporting
All incidents no matter how minor or insignificant must be recorded using the Institute’s Incident Report Form.
If you have an incident, it must be reported immediately to your Head of School or Manager
All incidents will be investigated, why ?
- Identify the cause of the accident
- Prevent a re-occurrence
- Implement corrective actions
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
The Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is a free service provided to Letterkenny Institute of Technology to ensure a well-balanced and positive working environment for all staff members. The EAP is available through an independent organisation called VHI Healthcare.
The Employee Assistance Programme is a confidential independent employee service offering information, support and assistance on a range of issues including, but not limited, to the following:
- Consumer rights
- Relationships
- Taxation
- Matrimonial Law
- Legal Matters
- Benefits
- Tenancy
- Promotion and Training
- Immigration
- Career Issues
- Redeployment
- Childcare
- Eldercare
- Civil litigation
- Neighbour disputes
- Work/Life balance
- Probate and Wills
- Redundancy
The Employee Assistance Programme also offers a professional and strictly confidential counselling service to staff members and their families on the following issues. The list below is a sample of the issues covered by this service:
- Martial or Relationship Problems
- Bereavement/Loss
- Loneliness
- Life Changes
- Family problems
- Anxiety/Depression
- Esteem/Confidence
- Substance misuse
- Eating Disorders
- Stress
- Trauma
- Workplace pressure
- Job insecurity
- Work/Life balance
- Bullying/Harassment
This valuable resource may be contacted 24 hours a day, 7days a week, 365 days of the year.
To contact Employee Assistance Programme telephone:
1800 995 955 (ROI) or
0800 282 193 (NI) or
e-mail eap@vhics.ie