Contribute to Health and Safety in Health and Social Care

1. Identify legislation relating to general health and safety in a health or social care work setting. Legislations/codes of practice relating to general health and safety in a health or social care work setting are: The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974; Riddor 1995, COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health); Manual Handling operations regulations 1992; Health And Safety (First aid regulations 1981); Fire protection (Workplace) Regulations 1997; Food Safety Act 1990; Personal Protective Equipment and Management of Health and safety at work regulations 1999.

2. Describe the main points of the health and safety policies and procedures agreed with the employer.

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is the main piece of legislation that covers work related health and safety in the workplace. The main points of the health and safety policies and procedures agreed with the employer are Minimum handling and lifting; Ensure handling and lifting is carried out correctly and safely; Making sure all materials/equipment that is needed to be used is handled, stored and used safely; To be aware of any potential hazards and risks and how to reduce to liability of any accidents occurring; To be responsible for your own welfare and the welfare of others you are looking after; To wear the correct PPE at all times;

3. Outline the main health and safety responsibilities of: * Self
The main responsibilities for yourself whilst at work in a health and social care setting are to not put yourself or others at risk, to report any hazards or unsafe conditions, to co-operate with your employers, to not tamper with or misuse equipment provided, to attend training, be aware of and follow policies and procedures. Breaching any of these health and safety laws can lead to prosecution resulting in unlimited fines and/or imprisonment for up to 2 years. * The employer/manager

The main responsibilities of your employer/manager at work are to: look after
your health, safety and welfare; to provide a healthy and safe environment; to provide information, instruction and training; to perform risk assessments and implement control measures; to provide updated policies and procedures; to provide equipment (PPE, hoists)

* Others in the work setting
The main responsibilities of: team members; other colleagues; those who use or commission their own health and social care services; families, carers and advocates in the workplace is to ensure that they are they are following all legislations relating to general health and social care, not to put anyone at risk and to follow company procedures at all times.

4. Identify tasks relating to health and safety that should not be carried out without special training

Tasks relating to health and safety that should not be carried out without special training are: First aid; Moving & positioning; Use of equipment; Administering medication and food hygiene

5. Explain how to access additional support and information relating to health and safety

Ways to access additional support and information relating to health and safety would be to speak to your health and safety executive, complete more training, read up or find out about different policies and procedures, contact your line manager, research on the internet/websites, speak to a designated health and safety person or the department of health.

Outcome 2 – Understand the use of risk assessments in relation to health and safety

1. Explain why it is important to assess health and safety hazards posed by the work setting or by particular activities

It is important to assess health and safety hazards posed by the work setting or by particular activities in order for members of staff to understand the risks that may come their way when they are performing certain tasks, and so staff know how to handle the situation to create as little risk as possible for everyone involved.

2. Explain how and when to report potential health and safety risks that have been identified

To report potential health and safety risks I would contact my line manager/duty officer/manager, I would report something when I think it could cause possible harm and create a health and safety risk.

3. Explain how risk assessment can help address dilemmas between rights and health and safety concerns

Risk assessments can help address dilemmas between rights and health and safety concerns by helping reduce any risks created by undergoing certain tasks, risks assessments are not in place to prevent an individual doing things that they want to do, they are in place to concentrate on the risk factors and to look at any other ways to reduce the risk of the task in hand.

Outcome 3 – Understand procedures for responding to accidents and sudden illness.

1. Describe different types of accidents and sudden illness that may occur in own work setting.

Accidents that could happen in my work place could be: cuts and burns, e.g. in the kitchen; Back injuries/strains/sprains from poor handling/lifting techniques; tripping over from things left around the house. Sudden illnesses that could happen are: Strokes; heart attacks; epileptic fits; asthma attacks; diabetic emergencies; seizures; severe headaches; slurred speech; chest pain; difficulty breathing; sickness and diarrhea; vomiting/passing blood.

2. Outline the procedures to be followed if an accident or sudden illness should occur

The procedure to follow would be to contact the duty officer/line manager and report in the following accidents/illnesses immediately. Even in an emergency the company policy is to always contact the duty officer/line manager first so that they are able to inform the emergency services of what has happened, and any other underlying medical issues that the individual might be suffering with, and regards with families wishes if the individual is do not resuscitate. Await emergency services and reassure the service user.

Outcome 5 – Be able to move and handle equipment and other objects safely

1. Identify legislation that relates to moving and handling

* Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA)
* Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (MHOR) (as amended 2002) * Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 * Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) * Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER)

2. Explain principles for moving and handling equipment and other objects safely

The principles for moving and handling equipment and other objects safely is to follow good practice when moving and positioning individuals/objects, to think about the task in hand, to ensure the individuals safety and that you are competent in the task you are performing, consider how heavy the object/individual is that you are moving, and to consider your environment and all the hazards around you. To follow risk assessments, to consider your posture (bend with your back not your knees), wear appropriate clothing, footwear and PPE (personal protective equipment), ensure the individual is fully informed and consent is obtained, promote the independence of individuals, ensure the correct training has been received in order to take out the task in hand, if moving and handling with another person then ensure actions and communication is co-ordinated.

Outcome 6 – Know how to handle hazardous substances and materials

1. Identify hazardous substances and materials that may be found in the work setting

Hazardous substances that may be found in the work setting might be: adhesives, paints, cleaning agents, grain, dust, bacteria, micro-organisms, blood, faeces and drugs, medication, clinical waste and soiled linen

2. Describe safe practices for

* Storing hazardous substances
Safe practices for storing hazardous substances would be to store the substances in a well-ventilated room, storing a safe quantity of the hazardous substance and ensuring fire precautions have been taken. * Using hazardous substances

When using hazardous substances always ensure the correct use of personal protection equipment, always work from the dirtiest area to the cleanest when working with cleaning up spillages and use warning signs if necessary to warn others and follow instructions. * Disposing of hazardous substances and materials

When disposing of hazardous substances and materials, biological waste must be incinerated, hazardous waste needs to be disposed of in yellow or orange bags and disposed of separate to household waste, unused medication can be returned to the pharmacy or disposed of in a sealed bag. Mobile care services procedure for clinic waste is to tie it up in a sealed bag and dispose of it either in the main bins in a complex/home or in the black dustbin in a customers’ house. Outcome 7 – Understand how to promote fire safety in the work setting 1. Describe practices that prevent fires from:

* Starting
Practices to prevent a fire starting would be to: Keep portable heaters away from furniture, furnishings and flammable items, and switch them off every time you leave the house; at night, before you go to bed, unplug all electrical items not in use; always use correctly rated fuses in all electrical appliances; don’t use a hot or sparking power tool, and don’t leave a soldering iron, or any DIY equipment on and unattended; keep all doors close at all times; never leave chip pans or fires unattended; to avoid using multi-way plug socket adapters, if possible and to always use a proper candleholder, and keep candles away from draughts, or anything flammable. For a fire to start it needs 3 elements – a source of heat or flame, a fuel that will burn and oxygen to keep it burning, if one of these three elements is missing the fire cannot start. * Spreading

Procedures to stop fires spreading would be to: use a water/foam/carbon dioxide/powder fire extinguisher depending on the type of fire; fire point labels; hose reels and fire blankets, close doors and windows.

2. Outline emergency procedures to be followed in the event of a fire in the work setting

In the event of a fire, if the fire is too big to put out on your own you must evacuate the property immediately and set off the fire alarm and make sure you and others are safe and alert emergency services.

3. Explain the importance of maintaining clear evacuation routes at all times

The importance of maintaining a clear evacuation route at all times is to ensure that if there was an emergency, all exits are clear and easy to access and that there is nothing in the way to create a hazard, e.g. something that you may trip on, so that it is easy to escape.

Outcome 8 – Be able to implement security measures in the work setting

1. Use agreed ways of working for checking the identity of anyone requesting to access

* Premises
Ask anyone who enters the premises to show photo identification and state who they are and what company they are with. Have security measures in place such as personalised passwords for secure doors for each individual who enters the premises. Contact the company that the individual claims to be with and confirm with them that they are genuine. * Information

Agreed ways of working to check the identity of anyone to access information would be: to check the full name, d.o.b and address of the individual who is trying to access information; ask/create a specific password/passcode unique to each individual who has access to information and require it every time they need access to the information. Other ways could include Photo i.d., fingerprint scanners or retina checks.

3. Explain the importance of ensuring that others are aware of own whereabouts The importance of ensuring that others are aware of own whereabouts is important so that all other members of staff know where you are at all times, they are able to communicate with other service users and let them know the member of staffs’ whereabouts or if they are running late and why. If in a secluded building it would be important to know the whereabouts of staff to ensure all service users are being looked after correctly and at the correct times, also in case of an emergency e.g. a fire, it would be important to know where all staff are to ensure they are out of the building and safe.

Outcome 9 – Know how to manage own stress

1. Identify common signs and indicators of stress
Common signs and symptoms of stress are: Being absent from work; not being able to sleep; aggressive behaviour; depression; tearful; agitated; withdrawn; feel a failure (self-esteem) Lack confidence or eating too much/not enough.

2. Identify circumstances that tend to trigger own stress Circumstances that trigger my stress are: working too much with no spare time; working too many hours; not socialising enough; arguments with friends/family; problems with my car; too many things to do with not enough time and no money

Circumstances that trigger generalised stress can be: Death of spouse; Divorce; Marital separation; Jail term; Death of close family member; Personal injury or illness; Marriage; Fired at work; too much work too little time to do it in; not being clear about what you should be doing; not able/trained to do the job; cramped or unpleasant working conditions; environment too noisy/hot/cold; being exposed to violence or bullying; unsupportive manager or unrealistic expectations.

3. Describe ways to manage own stress
Ways of managing stress could be: Take time out (holidays, breaks etc.); Exercise (yoga, breathing, walking, running); Seek medical advice; Leisure activities; Ask for help/support; know your own limitations; Change of lifestyle or holistic approaches.