GH GHNHSFTeLearning Portal

Accessing the risk assessment refresher module

New managers often need refresher training because their responsibilities change quickly after appointment. The Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust eLearning portal brings local and national learning together, making it the best place to find current guidance rather than relying on an old bookmarked link or a course completed by a previous manager.

The training supports structured hazard identification, assessment of likelihood and consequence, selection of control measures, and recording of required actions. For people leading teams in Australian health services, these skills also support clinical governance, staff safety and a defensible account of how risks were identified and managed.

Australian requirements remain important. Safe Work Australia provides the national model, while each state or territory has its own work health and safety regulator and legal requirements. NHS terminology such as “Trust”, “incident” and “near miss” should therefore be translated into the WHS, clinical risk and reporting arrangements used by the employing organisation.

The portal is intended for authorised Trust staff and learners. Australian managers should use employer-arranged access or the account supplied by their learning provider rather than assuming that an NHS Trust login will work for them. The steps below cover course access, enrolment, completion and evidence.

Confirm the course you need

Begin by confirming that the assignment is a refresher rather than the full risk assessment course. Refresher material is normally shorter and revisits hazard identification, risk rating, control measures and manager responsibilities. It does not replace the site-specific assessment required for a ward, department or service.

Check the audience, module version and learning outcomes shown in the course details. Look for terminology such as risk assessment, refresher, managers or team leaders. If the portal uses a broader title, the learning outcomes should still cover identifying hazards, evaluating risk and recording suitable controls.

Several versions may appear for different staff groups, professions or locations. Choose the version assigned to new managers and follow any local manager pathway provided by the Trust or Australian employing organisation. If the distinction remains unclear, the line manager or learning coordinator can confirm the correct course.

Find and enrol through the eLearning portal

Open the eLearning portal through the organisation’s normal learning link rather than a search-engine result. Authorised Trust users should sign in with their allocated account. Australian managers should use the credentials issued by their employer or learning provider and should never share a password or account activation code.

Use the catalogue or search function to look for the risk assessment refresher. If that phrase produces no result, try a broader term such as risk assessment, refresher or manager safety. Check whether filters for profession, staff group or location are limiting the results before assuming the course is unavailable.

Open the course details before enrolling. Look for the current publication date, intended audience, estimated duration, mandatory status and any assessment requirements. Then select the enrol or launch option displayed on the page. If self-enrolment is unavailable, the course may require approval through a manager, education team or nominated learning coordinator.

Work through the refresher content

Complete each lesson and interactive activity in sequence rather than selecting only the assessment. Refresher courses often include short scenarios involving staffing, equipment, medication, lone working or deteriorating conditions. The purpose of these activities is to test how risks are identified and controlled, not to memorise a particular score.

Apply the hierarchy of controls when reviewing scenarios. Elimination and substitution should be considered before isolation, engineering controls, administrative measures and personal protective equipment. Note any response that would differ in an Australian hospital, especially where local escalation, consultation or incident-reporting procedures apply.

Related training can help managers connect assessment with day-to-day reporting practices. A useful resource is the medication error reporting guide for pharmacy staff, which explains how medication incidents can be reported and used to prevent recurrence.

Apply Australian workplace and clinical context

Safe Work Australia’s hierarchy of controls is a useful Australian reference when translating the module into practice. The relevant state or territory regulator still determines legal duties, and the online learning does not replace consultation with workers, a local hazard assessment or the employer’s WHS procedures.

Reporting arrangements differ across Australian health services. Melbourne and Victorian hospitals often use Riskman, many Sydney services use CIMS, and hospitals in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide may use other approved incident platforms. Managers should send near misses, medication events and unsafe rostering issues through their organisation’s clinical risk or WHS channel while following local escalation procedures for urgent risks.

The Australian health workforce commonly includes permanent, casual, agency and internationally trained staff. Handover arrangements, medication reconciliation, interpreter access and competency checks may therefore be relevant controls. Where medicines are involved, the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care’s Medication Safety Standard provides a useful local reference alongside the refresher content.

Check access, enrolment and completion

Use the following checks before starting the learning:

After finishing, confirm the following:

A failed check may indicate that a required activity was only opened, not submitted, or that an earlier version of the course is being displayed. Record the error message before refreshing the page, and retain the final confirmation because it provides the clearest evidence of completion.

Record learning and resolve blockers

Save the completion confirmation and note the course title, completion date and version shown on the record. Managers should also record any actions identified during the module in the appropriate local risk, staffing or improvement process. Refresher requirements can vary, so any review date should follow the employing organisation’s policy rather than an assumed annual cycle.

Keep the evidence where the Australian organisation can access it, including its learning management system, training record or competency file. Where local and portal records differ, check that the manager, course and completion date are correct before reporting the training as finished.

If access cannot be obtained, contact the eLearning Helpdesk using the phone number or email address shown in the portal’s support details. Include the manager’s name, work location, course title, exact error message and a screenshot where permitted, but never include a password or identifiable patient information. The next concrete step is to open the eLearning portal, search for the risk assessment refresher and enrol in the version assigned to new managers.