Health and safety in Health and Social care workplace

Introduction:
HSC workplace is very sensitive place as sick, ill and vulnerable people admit there. HSC workplace must have healthy and safety environment otherwise it will be very much risky for service users. Employers and care professionals must aware of health and safety issues in HSC workplace. This assignment will focus health and safety issues in HSC workplace. Q1:

Health and social care settings must ensure health and safety for their service users and employees. Employees are the key movers of an organization and if they are not in good condition, the operation of the organization will be worst. This is so true for health and social care settings. If employees are safe and healthy they can provide good service to service users. Every health and social care setting has its own policies, legislation, regulation and code of practice. All the employees are bound to follow those policies and they run their all kinds of work according to the code of practice. Employers will arrange proper training and supply sufficient information to employees to get the optimum outcomes. Management ensures all employees are following organizational regulations and all kinds of operations are conducting in prescribed way. They make sure health and safety for the employees and clients. Employers will employ effective, energetic and experienced people as managers. They can employ specialists as well.

Health and safety is very concerning issue in health and social care setting. Organization will identify various risks, factors that are responsible for these risks and suitable actions against these risks. Management will give training regarding this issue to employees. If any employee finds out any kind of risk he must inform his manager and manager will take immediate action. For ensuring health and safety in health and social care setting, clients and their family members will cooperate as well. It is very essential to preserve client’s information private and confident otherwise sometime it may create problems. In health and social care setting there are many regulations regarding various issues like occupational health service, substance hazardous to heath, violence to staff, smoking. Off-side working, working alone, stress, fast aid, risk assessment, emergency procedures, accident reporting and so on. Employees should know and obey these procedures. If something wrong takes place they will immediately act according to the act of conduct [2].

Q2.
Analyze are the health & safety priorities in a workplace.
HSC workplace must aware of the employees’ and service users’ health and safety. Employees and employers are activities ensure health and safety for service users and themselves as well. HSC workplaces should have sufficient arrangement to ensure health and safety for each employees and clients. Safety Executives, government agencies and local authorities overlook health and safety issues in the HSC workplaces in the UK. Commercial premises like office, residential care homes, consumer services, and warehouse should implement Health and Safety Work Act 1974. Health and safety officers take action according to Enforcement and Prosecution Policy and HSE’s Enforcement Management Model [3]. In HSC workplace, care professionals should give priority to their own health and safety issues, then service users. If care professionals are not safe and secure, they are not able to take care of others. In current case study, K was a home care assistant and her first visit to a new client, Mr. W. who has been suffering from psychiatric illness.

K knew that Mr. W’s house was in very poor condition and he had a large dog. Some security threats were involved in K’s visiting as she visited Mr. W’s house alone and the patient had psychiatric illness. She was aware of different risks related to her visit. She knew how to handle those risks and if something goes wrong, she will take preventive actions. K knew the client’s condition and the workplace environment before and she had adequate preparation to face the problem. She went there to take out Mr. W. from his house and admitted him in a resident care home. Analyze the impact of health & safety policy on health & social care practice and its customers. Generally government decides health and safety policies nationally, and then local government set health and safety policies for local HSC workplaces based on national policies. HSC workplaces set organizational health and safety policies based on local and national health and safety policies. Health and safety policies ensure health and safety to clients, employees and employers and better working condition and maximum service to clients.

Health and safety policies have some impact on Mr. W. and K and these are stated below: K becomes happier, healthier, motivated and productive for proper implementation of health and safety policies at HSC workplace. It ensures good CSR among customers, communities and investors. These policies facilitate better working environment that reduce employees’ absenteeism and turnover rate. Health and safety policies ensure less threats, risks and accidents to K. These policies ensure maximum treatment to Mr. W.

Improper practice or absent of health and safety policies facilitate poor working condition and risks to employees, employers and service users. Improper practice of health and safety policies causes occupational injury and ill health which cost almost £30bn (more than 3% of GDP) as 30 million working days were lost in the UK every year. More than two million people suffer from various illnesses which are directly and indirectly related to workplace. Occupational illnesses cause a lot of death and poor working condition causes uninsured losses and reputation distortion [5].

Q3:
Organizational chart of my organization:

The responsibilities for management in a HSC workplace of health and safety in relation to organizational structure: Management will implement health and safety policies properly to protect and to prevent wastage, damage, injury and ill health. Management will ask employers to manage sufficient finance to implement all health and safety policies. Management must aware of his duties and responsibilities and take proper initiatives to implement health and safety policies throughout the entire organization. Management will facilitate different kinds of work related training to care workers regularly and arrange provisional training to newly appointed employees. He must make that only experienced and trained employees handle dangerous and flammable chemical utensils and sensitive equipments. He should give instruction to clients on the management of asbestos within non-domestic premises. He will monitor care professionals and workers activities either they accomplishing their jobs according code of practices or not.

Management will wear suitable protective clothing, use appropriate equipments and abide by organizational rules and regulations and aware of potential hazards and protection of those hazards. He will act in such a way that others will follow him. Management will inform higher authority to appoint skilled, knowledgeable, experienced Competent Safety Advisor. Management will make sure that there are sufficient arrangements for first aid service to take immediate treatment for any injuries at workplace. Management will lists all health and safety policies in documents and provide those to respective employees. If it is needed they will inform employers to change legislations. Management will maintain good relationship will Safety Enforcement Authorities and follow current legislations properly. Management will inform law enforces agencies and health and safety executives regarding organizational activities. Management will make sure that fire precautions and fire exiting facilities are available at workplace and all flammable liquids and LP gases are stored and used according to the legislations [1]. Q4:

In HSC workplace risk assessment is very important as it examines the working condition and determines the factors that cause harm to people in HSC workplace. Risk assessment prescribes precautions and preventive actions against harms. It protects everybody in HSC workplaces including employers, employees and service users. If risks are not detected and protected properly, it is sure that they will harm both employees and clients or even cause to death, increase insurance, damage machinery, force employees to go court, affect organizational reputation and output. To reduce risks at workplace, management should take some precautions and preventive steps; for example, spillage will be clean as quick as possible to save people from slip. Risk assessment helps HSC workplace to protect valuable assets in cost and time effective way. Risk assessment can’t eradicate all risks but it can deduct the intensity of harm. Generally risk assessment has five steps:

1. Identify risks, vulnerabilities and danger.
2. Identify who will be harmed and how
3. Sort out the risks and decide the protection
4. File up all the finding and implement those in HSC workplace
5. Review risk assessment regularly and update information

In this case study, Mr. W. has been suffering from psychiatric illness. After doing the risk assessment it was found that Mr. W’s house was in very poor condition like garden was overgrown, house was full of old furniture and rubbish was scattered on the floor everywhere. After conducting the risk assessment, it was clear that Mr. W. need immediate treatment otherwise his condition would be further deteriorated. He needed care in care home setting and K went there to pick him up for better treatment. Care professionals will provide treatment to Mr. K. with the help of care workers in care home. Q5:

In HSC workplace care professionals and care workers sometimes face ethical dilemmas. Ethical dilemmas differ in different HSC workplaces. The most common ethical dilemmas that care workers face in HSC workplaces are poor security, conflict of interest, privacy of patient’s information, distortion of medical facts and compliance with local, state and federal health regulations [6]. Generally conflicts arise when the beliefs, values and opinions of service users don’t match with care workers. In current case study, Mr. H has learning disability and mental health. He wanted to visit paper shop in the morning to buy his favorite newspaper but he has no road awareness. Service users can take their own decisions and care workers are bound to obey service users’ opinions. Some of their opinions are related to risks. In here, Mr. H wanted to go newspaper shop but he has no road awareness which involved great risks. There was a fair chance of losing direction which would create huge problem.

In that case care workers face ethical dilemma as they are bound to obey service user’s opinions but if they follow service user’s direction which may create problems and it will be dangerous for Mr. H. Care workers play important role to promote health and safety in HSC workplace. In HSC workplace generally old, sick, ill and vulnerable people get admitted who need care and treatment. Care workers provide services according to care professional’s directions. They follow organizational policies, legislations, regulations and conduct their activities according to organizational code of practices. If all members play their roles properly organizational goals and objectives are attained automatically. Care workers must know and concern about different risks and if they find some symptoms of risks, they will take immediate actions or if it beyond their limit they will inform managers.

All care workers should trust, respect and help each other to make a better team. They will try their best to make good relationship with service users which will ease their works. They try their level best to satisfy clients. They must always aware of client’s health and safety issues. They don’t expose any kind of client’s information to third party without client’s permission. Care workers can create good relationship with service users by behaving politely, responding quickly and acting based on service user’s preferences. By above mentioned way care workers can promote health and safety in HSC workplace. Q6:

Without prosecution it is really tough to implement health and safety policies among people and in various organizations. Many organizations and people violate health and safety laws and regulations. Prosecution is the best way to treat them. Prosecution is a flexible action and not all OHS laws will be processed automatically. Health and safety court will give different kinds of punishment based on breaching the laws and regulations. Generally court fines organizations or people for breaching health and safety laws. An offender can get punishment in different ways and some are so true to the infringer health and safety.

Lawyer can help an organization or an individual in different ways. For example, he can help to learn a lesson and not to repeat the same offence again and again. He offers more restriction to business community and employees. He provides the opportunity to comply with the laws and increases the role of victims. There are some alternatives which are used in Australia and Europe; for example, organizations will take part in social activities or taking responsibility to increase social awareness in a specific age group or a community. Q7:

There are few Acts regarding health and safety and here I will describe two of them: The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999: According this Act, employers must conduct risk assessment to reduce or diminish risks. If employer has more than five employees he must conduct the risk assessment. Employers are also responsible for managing sufficient arrangement to implement health and safety risk assessments. He will scrutinize and analysis those arrangements. Employers will employ experienced, skilled, trained and knowledgably person to conduct risk assessment. Employers will provide sufficient information to employees and build emergency procedures. Employers will employ suitable person to train up and to supervise employees. Cooperate with other employers in same fields by sharing information in various issues like risks involve in cleaning, catering and maintenance activities. The Workplace, (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992: Employers have to maintain certain physical condition and working standards.

This act is related to various issues like lighting and maintenance of equipment and building, condition of the floor and traffic routes, provision of drinking water, cleanliness, temperature, room dimensions and space, ventilation and toilet facilities. Every HSC workplace should have good practices and policies to promote positive safety culture and health in workplace. Health and safety culture ensure employee engagement and positive satisfaction at workplace. To promote health and safety culture in workplace it is very essential to practice health and safety policies in all levels including supervisor, senior management and line managers.

The activities and responsibilities of all employees are precisely defined. Health policy and security can also be given the commitment of the organization to ensure adequate resources for critical security issues, such as provision of safe means of access and egress to each part of the workplace maintenance of plant, equipment and machinery in a safe manner use of safe working procedures, particularly for safety critical process operations or services provision and maintenance of a safe place of work for all employees performance of ongoing hazard identification and risk assessments provision and maintenance of Personal Protective Equipment preparation of emergency plans and the provision of first-aid training provision and dissemination of health and safety information operation of health and safety consultation and safety representation programmes review and update the health and safety policy to present adverse effects on the health and safety of employees from changing processes, procedures and conditions in the workplace appointment of people responsible for keeping safety control systems in place and making them aware of their responsibilities establishment of monitoring arrangements, including safety inspections and audits, which should be used by the employer to ensure ongoing compliance with legal duties, responsibilities and controls development of in-house health and safety competence employment of external health and safety experts as required use of standards, codes of practice, guidelines or industry practices co-operation required from employees and disciplinary procedures for non-compliance. [8] Conclusion:

Both employers and employees should take responsibility to provide health and safety in HSC workplaces. Employers will show guidelines and employees will conduct activities according to the employer’s guidelines. Employers will monitor employees’ activities regularly and facilitate different trainings and coaching to make employees more productive and competitive.

References:

Benefits and costs, [Online], Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/leadership/benefits.htm [Accessed: 12th February,
2014] Health and safety policy and procedure, [Online], Available at: http://www.ecaottawa.org/pdf/health&safety.pdf [Accessed: 12th February, 2014] Health and safety and the workplace, [Online] , Available at:http://www.basis.ie/home/home.jsp?pcategory=13226&ecategory=13293§ionpage=10339&language=EN&page=&link=link001&doc=11993&doclistid=18515&logname=Safety%20Management%20System%20Review&urlcode= [Accessed: 12th February, 2014] Health and safety in the workplace, [Online], Available at:http://www.salford.gov.uk/bhs.htm [Accessed: 12th February, 2014] M. R. Ensing, Ethical issues and the Elderly: Guidance for the Eldercare providers, [Online], Available at: http://www.ensignlaw.com/Ethical%20Issues%20and%20Elderly.html [Accessed: 12th February, 2014] NHS Direct- Health and Safety Policy, [Online], Available at:http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/About/FreedomOfInformation/FOIPublicationScheme/~/media/Files/FreedomOfInformationDocuments/OurPoliciesAndProcedures/HRAndEmployment/030907_Health_and_safety_policy.ashx [Accessed: 12th February, 2014] Risk assessment, [Online], Available at:http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/risk-assessment.htm [Accessed: 12th February, 2014] Review healthy and safety, [Online], Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/leadership/review.htm [Accessed: 12th February, 2014]