health safety and security
P1- Explain potential hazards in health and social care
This assignment is going to look at hazards in the working environment.
Hazards
A hazard is a source of potential damage, harm or adverse health effects on something or someone under certain conditions at work. A hazard has three modes: Dormant (there are no people around; there is no risk), armed (there is a person or people in the vicinity; there is risk), active (human reaction time is too slow to combat the effect of the hazard; it is too late to prevent the consequences of the hazard).
A hazard can cause harm or adverse effects (to individuals as heath effects or to organisations as property or equipment losses).
Sometimes a hazard is referred to as being the actual harm or the health affect it caused rather than the hazard. For example, the disease tuberculosis (TB) might be called a hazard by some but in general the TB-causing bacteria would be considered the hazard.
Workplace hazards can come from a wide range of sources. General examples include any substance, material, process, practice, which has the ability to cause harm or adverse health effect to a person under certain conditions.
Here are two examples of hazards:
A wet floor is a hazard; this should be shown to people by a "wet floor" sign. If a person has no idea that a floor is wet and slippery, they could fall or slip and seriously hurt themselves.
Bottles that are not labelled are hazards. A member of staff could give their patient the wrong medicine instead of the right one. This could cause serious harm to the patient.
Risks
A risk is the chance that something (usually something bad) will happen because of something else. For example, if you smoke a packet of cigarettes a day for 30 years, you have a 10 percent risk of dying from lung cancer. (www.besttreatments.co.uk)
Risk is the probability that a person will be harmed or experience an adverse health effect if exposed to a hazard. It may also apply to situations with property or equipment loss.
Any one who thinks they have seen a risk in the workplace, they must fill in a risk assessment form.
The relationship between hazard and risk must be treated very cautiously. If all other factors are equal - especially the exposures and the people subject to them, then the risk is proportional to the hazard. However all factors are equal.
Here is an example: Potassium Dichromate is a highly toxic carcinogenic chemical. It is used in some techniques to analyse exhaled breath for alcohol content. However for this purpose it is sealed in a tube, and does not become airborne when air is drawn over it. Therefore although it is a highly hazardous substance, its use as described, does not present any risk to the subject.
Accidents
An employer has a duty to protect their staff and tell them about health and safety issues that affect them. They also have a legal obligation to report certain accidents and incidents to the Incident Contact Centre of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). They must report:
* Death
* Major injuries (a broken arm or ribs)
* Dangerous incidents (people overcome by gas)
* Any other injury that stops an employee from doing their normal work for more than three days
* Disease
It is important to identify the cause of accidents so that they can be prevented in future and to reduce injury, ill-health and costs to business.
In order to identify the cause of accidents it is good practice for businesses to investigate those that occur in the workplace so that preventable measures can be put in place to reduce the risk of them happening again. The more serious accidents that occur are required to ...
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* Any other injury that stops an employee from doing their normal work for more than three days
* Disease
It is important to identify the cause of accidents so that they can be prevented in future and to reduce injury, ill-health and costs to business.
In order to identify the cause of accidents it is good practice for businesses to investigate those that occur in the workplace so that preventable measures can be put in place to reduce the risk of them happening again. The more serious accidents that occur are required to be reported to the Enforcing Authority so that they can be investigated to identify trends and to ensure suitable control measures are put in place to prevent them from happening again. This is a requirement of RIDDOR 1995.
Working Environment
Employers have a legal responsibility for the health and safety of their employees. Health and safety is about preventing people from being harmed at work or becoming ill, by taking the right precautions and providing a satisfactory working environment.
Employers also have the legal responsibilities for the impact on their business has on the environment. For example, it is up to them to ensure they dispose of waste properly.
Incidents
Incidents happen everyday in care settings. Staff should be able to cope with these incidents if they have taken the correct training. For example an incident may occur where a member of the public is being abusive to another member of staff or a patient. The member of staff could deal with this person on their own by being calm and talking to the in a respectable manner, and kindly ask them to leave. Yet if the person is being threatening and violent, the member of staff should go for help straightaway, incase something severe happens.
P2- Describe how key legislation in relation to health, safety and security influences health and social care delivery.
P3- Using examples from work experience describe how policies and procedures promote health, safety and security in the health and social care workplace
Manual Handling is an activity requiring the use of force exerted by a person to lift, lower, push, pull, carry or otherwise move, hold, restrain any animate or inanimate object.
The Data Protection Act 1998 gives a person the right to access information held about them by organisations. The act is enforced by the Information Commissioner. Data protection is about a person's fundamental right to privacy.
Service users have the permission and right to access their own personal data, but they must pay a fee or they will be turned down. A service users relative has the right to request their data if it has information about themselves in it.
Security systems must exist in all care settings in insure unauthorised users can not access, alter, delete or disclose data
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) provides a legal framework to protect people against health risks form hazardous substances used in the work place, or a care setting such as dust, chemicals that are toxic, chemicals that are flammable, chemicals that are irritant, chemicals that are corrosive and chemicals that have a oxidising agent.
Chemicals that are hazardous in a care setting can be cleaning solutions, bleach, disinfection and sterilising fluids.
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995 requires the reporting of work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences. It applies to all work activities, but not all to incidents.
Reporting accidents at work is a legal requirement.
Care settings should always have appropriate signs up; for example, wash your hands before dealing with food, relating to food safety. Staff not adhering to food safety may face loosing their job, or making someone extremely ill.
Policies and Procedures
How they promote health, safety and security in work settings
Manual Handling
Hoists, lifts or any equipment must be used in the correct way and be in good working order.
Data Protection
Gives service users' rights to information about themselves, which they have right to know about.
Service providers must adhere to the data protection act and keep their clients details confidential.
COSHH
It ensures that substances hazardous to health are kept in the right environment and used professionally.
RIDDOR
This policy encourages staff or clients to report incidents no matter how big or small, and it ensures them that something will be done about it.
Food Safety
Ensures clients that their food and the area surrounding their food are clean and prepared properly.
P4- Examine the roles and responsibilities of key people in the promotion of health, safety and security in a health and social care setting
For his part of the assignment I will interview two people, the employer and the employee, and look at their roles of their job description.
The role of the employer is to make sure there are policies and procedures for staff to follow. They have to make sure staff are trained to follow these policies and procedures and to make sure staff adhere to them. Make sure staff are have done their manual handling training and to make sure there is the right equipment for them to use on site. They also need to ensure that the equipment, for example hoists and lifts, are in correct working order. Food hygiene is also a must. Staff who works in the kitchen must have a food hygiene certificate to show they have basic training of food hygiene.
Employers must prepare and revise as often as is necessary, a written 'Statement of health and safety policy', and brings the statement, and any revision of it, to the notice of all employees.
The employer and their staff must maintain the guidelines for COSHH, and make sure that substances that are hazardous to the health are correctly stored away.
The employer must make sure that their staff has their Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) training up to date. Employees who do not have this training may not be able to work with vulnerable adults in their establishment.
The employer needs to ensure that there is a trained first aider on the premises to deal with accidents that may occur. Staff who do not have this training must not deal with the casualty themselves.
They must be able to undertake risk assessments on potential hazards within the home. If there is a hazard they should either report it or try to sort it out themselves if they are qualified. They can make recommendations on improvement for the environment they work in.
They must also make sure that all documents on Health and Safety and Security are kept up to date and maintained in the correct order, for example accident and visitors forms.
The employer should make sure that the working environment is safe for their employees, without risks to health, and adequate as regards to facilities and arrangements for their welfare at work.
The employees roles are to make sure they take the training they are given. It is their responsibility to turn up for their training. If they do not then they are not trained to do their job properly. This could result in them loosing their job.
They need to make sure they know their company's policies and procedures, and to adhere to them at all times.
Make sure if they come across a hazard or risk to do a risk assessment on the problem and report it. For example they will need to report faulty equipment, if they do not do so this could cause an accident to happen.
Employees need to know who their first aiders are. If they see and accident they need to report it first to the first aider, and fill out an accident form. This is vital in case the accident is severe and needs to be past onto someone else. They may need vital information about the accident, if they do not have this they may struggle in doing the job they do. Employees need to know how to fill in an accident form. This is where their training comes in.
They should report any people who they think are suspicious either inside their premises or outside. If they do not they could be at serious risk if this person is a danger to people.
They should make sure all residents' windows are locked at night so no intruders can get in.
P5- Carry out a health and safety survey of a local environment used by a specific patient/service user group
For this part of the assignment I will write up a risk assessment for Springfield Park.
I carried out a risk assessment on Springfield Park, which is owned by Rochdale council; these are the problems I came across. As I entered the park the gate was wide open. This opened gate is a high risk to young children, because they can easily wander off from their guardian onto the main road where they could be knocked down by a passing car. This could lead to a serious accident, injuring the child or the driver of the car. To prevent an accident like this occurring the council should have a stable lock on the gate, and a sign next to the gate saying 'Please close the gate'.
Next to the gate was a waste bin over flowing with broken bottles and every day waste. This waste bin is a medium risk to anybody. People could fall onto the broken bottles, or little children may pick them up. These people would be at high risk of cutting themselves, either a minor cut or a very severe cut. The council need to employ someone for example a park warden to empty the bins regularly. If the park is busy they should at least empty the bins once a day.
In front of the gate was a gentleman sat on the bench reading the paper, and wandering round the park was a dog on no lead. This man may just be taking his dog on its daily walk. If this is the case the dog should not be able to wander around with no lead on, to do its business all over the park (this park looks like a child's playground). If it does the man should pick it up and dispose of it in the orderly manner, so little children don not pick it up thinking it is something else. This dog could be a medium or a high risk to anyone. It could turn aggressive and bite someone. The council should put up a 'No dogs allowed' or 'Keep dogs on a lead' sign. This would prevent the dog from maybe attacking someone.
The dog may not belong to the man. This man may be not be a nice man. He could be out to hurt someone. If this is the case the council needs to appoint park warden, or they may be able to get a community police officer to patrol the park form time to time, to watch out for people like this.
Children going on the slide may be at risk, to falling through the steps or through the railings on the side. Little children are the ones at medium risk of this occurring. The child could get stuck or seriously hurt themselves if they do fall through. The council needs to either rebuild the slide with spindles down the side and a piece of metal running all the way down the back of the steps, or they could just add them things to it without rebuilding it.
The pond at the far end of the park is a high risk mainly to children. If any child was to fall in there and could not swim, they would be at risk of drowning. A child can drown in only 2cms of water. Even an elderly person may slip and fall into the pond, and hurt themselves. The council either need to put railings around the pond or put netting on top of it. Really they should do both, this would minimise the risk of anybody getting hurt.
There is a railway line running down the other side of the park. There is a fence between this and the park, yet there is only a wire netting supporting it. Any children could easily climb through the wire if it is broken and run out onto an oncoming train or electrocute themselves. This would most probably result in death. This railway line and fence the way it is, is a very high risk to anybody, especially children. The council need to build higher more secure fences, and maybe plant some fast growing trees, that would block the railway line off completely to anybody's view.
As you leave the park there is an ice-cream van parked directly on the opposite side of the road. A child wanting to go to the van has to cross the road, if they do not look where they are going they could be knocked down. The driver of the van should park on the other side of the road next to the park entrance, so the children do no have to be at risk of an accident like this happening.
References
www.beasttreatments.co.uk
Toni Woodward Unit 3 Health Safety & Security Ann M Howson