Health And Safety In The Health And Social Care Workplace

by nadannadia20gmailcom (student)

UNIT 3

Lo1 .1

HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE WORKPLACE

The legislative requirements in respect to the health and safety procedures to be implemented in the work environment are wide ranging and therefore must be communicated effectively. This is particularly important in the context of health and social care

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is an independent organisation which regulates health and safety in the workplace. The organisation also promotes initiatives to improve health and safety regulations and procedures for the benefit of all services users, including employees and patients in the health and social care context. In addition to this the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASAW) requires employers to keep a written record of the health and safety policy and have consultations with their employees in respect of the policies in place. However the aforementioned requirements only apply to employers with five or more employees. This ensures that employees are able to refer to a written set of rules in respect of health and safety and may be the primary reference and method of communicating the comprehensive guidance in respect of health and safety.

In addition to the above, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to provide their staff with information and training in respect of health and safety at work. Furthermore the HASAW requires employers to produce and implement their own health and safety polices as well the standard policies which address specific risks within that particular work environment.

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The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work has suggested various methods which may be employed to communicate health and safety issued for instance, having a list of hazardous substances, safety data sheets using date to provide practical information on how to handle substances and how to label substances. The above is a good method of communicating information to protect the immediate safety of employees with regards to physical hazards. In addition to this the management of health and social care providers should implement a long term strategy of communicating results of various risk assessments and general practice in terms minimising health and safety risks.

Furthermore reference should be made to the Care Standards Act 2000 which require information to be communicated effectively and in a manner which could be understood by the elderly and others with visual impairments. This ensures that the relevant information is adequately communicated to all users. As well as the above information may be communicated to employees through effective training the Care Quality Commission requires new employees to receive training in health and safety topics.

In addition to the above the Reporting if Injuries and Diseases Occurrences Regulations 1996 (RIDDOR) and Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) require employers to assess risk and train employees. In instances where the above regulations are applicable further information is necessarily made available and therefore communicated to employees, this may prove to be more effective then general information available to everyone.

With reference to the obligations under RIDDOR the management have a duty to report incidents, work-related deaths and diseases, major injuries and dangerous incidents to the local council or the Health and Safety Executive. The council then investigate the incident advice the organisations on what to do to prevent or reduce such incidents.

The effective communication of information is very important in a health and social care context as employees have direct contact with patients and service users therefore there could be direct implications on health and safety. Information is communicated through leaflets, labels, training and the health and procedure rules.

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The HASAW requires that someone within the particular organisation is appointed to address health and safety issues, this includes keeping a record of all accidents and providing the necessary safety equipment. Ensuring that an adequately qualified person is given the task ensuring that health and safety requirements are met is necessary to ensure compliance with the health and safety requirements.

As the type of health and social care setting varies the nature of the organisational structures also varies, for instance in the case of care homes, the Care Home Regulations require each care home to have a manager who has a qualification in leadership and management in care services. Furthermore the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 states that the organisation must ensure that “the competent people are appointed to put health and safety precautions into practice.

In addition the COSH and RIDDOR require employers to assess risk and ensure that staff are adequately trained and supervised. This enables health and safety to be effectively implemented throughout the entire organisations structure whilst reserving certain tasks to managements such as external reporting requirements and the updating of procedures whilst they are implemented throughout the organisation on all levels.

Ultimately the employers will be responsible for health and safety in the work place however “they may delegate to employees and health and safety representatives” thereby spreading responsibility through the organisational structure whilst retaining ultimate responsibility. In view of this the managers must monitor working practices therefore supervise staff to ensure that the correct procedures are being followed.

REFRENCES;

https://osha.europa.eu/en/topics/ds/advice_communication