Describe how health and safety legislation, policies and procedures promote the safety of individuals in a health or social care setting.

enough if there was to be any fire.Food safety act(1990) general food hygiene(1995)This act involves the altering of food product.  it provides a framework for the enforcement of testing food product at source, it is an offence to give away any food stuff that has had a substance added to it when being prepared, in addition it is an offence to sell advertised food and not complying with the requirements of the act, the act aims to protect the consumers by preventing illnesses from the food or being misled to the nature of the food they are purchasing.The employer must contribute to the expense of the staff training in food hygiene in any care setting that provides food.The staff must ensure that the food is prepared well by qualified chef and shouldn’t be fattening. the staffs should have had a food safety management, control system, hazard analysis to make sure the food hygiene and food safety act are met to reduce the risk of food poisoning also that the kitchen equipment must be color coded etc spatulas, chopping boards;GREEN – vegetablesYELLOW – raw poultryRED – raw meatsBLUE –sea foodsAll these food products must be stored in different sections of the freezer and all blood samples must always by all means be stored in a designated freezer away from the food incase of any contamination.Manual handling regulations (1992)This act requires legal limits for weight that can be lifted; it does require training.Any transporting of a load like lifting, putting down, pushing, carrying by hand, pulling or any bodily force are all manual handling, all accidents reported each year is linked with manual handling. the regulation is set out to reduce the risk of injury such as:Avoiding hazardous manual handling operationAssess any hazardous manual handling operation that cannot be avoidedReducing the risk of injury.This act also includes risk assessment filter and checklist to help the staff handle manual task. Employees must always make use of the safety rule which was introduced by the employer to reduce injury from this act.In all care settings it is a must that a risk assessment on manual handling should be carried out to make sure that the employees are aware of the risk, due to this the staffs have to have had a manual training each year to make sure that what their job demands does not go beyond their ability to carry out work with out risking their selves and a fellow resident/patient or friend.The staffs are more knowledgeable and know what to do when it comes to manual handling because of the training they get each year. The objects include; hoist, trolleys, chair and a patient so they will not be likely to cause and long term harm to a patient or themselves in most cases death. The procedure helps maintain a safer handling environment that avoids any risk as well as to ensure that the employees are patient and competent when it comes to handling.RIDDOR(1995)Riddor stand for the Reporting Of Injuries Diseases And Dangerous Occurrences Regulations. under this act the employer and other responsible person who have control over the staffs and work premises have certain responsibilities because if the following happen; death, dangerous occurrences, major injuries and accidents resulting over a 3 day period the employer is responsible for reporting the accident to a relevant authority like the line manager, safety supervisor, and health and safety services must be informed immediately so they can report to the HSE.There are 3 factors to be taken to account when an accident arises in a work place;How it was supervisedThe condition of the equipment providedThe condition of the premises.This act is to report any major   accidents and incidents occurring in the work place, this includes employers, staffs and people in control of the premises. They must report death related incidents or disease which they got infected by. This is done by a member of a staff ensuring that the report is filled correctly and sent to the correct authority to make sure the report is completed.This report allows sources such as local council or HSE investigate why and how the accident happened.They then advise the workplace how to avoid this risk from happening again in the future. Especially if death is involved, better guidelines are introduced to prevent the spread of a disease in the work place or advice how to handle a sharp object after a needle stick injury this is how people get infected and the disease spreads.Data protection act(1998)This act is a united kingdom act of parliament ,it defines the uk law on the processing of data on people, this act protects peoples rights and freedoms and also their privacy, it provides a way for people to control information  about them selves .some of the acts do not apply to domestic use, it also requires companies to keep personal information to their selves such as bank details although the act does not mention  in practice it does provide ways in which a person can control their own personal information, the act defines 8 data protection principals. So anyone holding a personal data must comply with this act.All work place should have a confidentiality policy to protect their staff and clients by meeting the requirement of this legislation, the data being given should only be used for the purpose it was collected in the first place, it must not be entitled to another party without the consent of the person its about,This could be a relative of a resident who has asked about information about the specific resident, if the resident has not obliged for any one to see this information then any staff that is involved in the caring of the patient can’t discuss the type of information the relative wants.(Coshh),control of hazardous substances (1998)This act is addressed to employers to control substances that are hazardous to health such as paint, bleach or dust from natural materials these could harm the employees, employers can prevent or reduce the way workers are exposed to these hazards by ;Finding out what the hazards are.Deciding how to prevent themProviding control measures to reduce harms to health.Planning emergencyKeeping all control measures in good working order.In any care setting the employees and others who could be exposed to risk from hazardous substances should be protected, the employees should be given clear guidelines and procedures on how to control these substances;The employees should wear white plastic apron and gloves when handling the patient especially after handling bodily waste to prevent infections.Equipments like bathtubs, toilets, tables, chairs and floors should be clean all the time by disinfectant products such as dettol.the environment of the premises will be safe from infectionsClothes from residents who are suffering from infections/diseases should be put in a separate bag away from the other residents clothing’s and washed separatelyStaffs should be trained in the use and handling of products storage, this prevents spillage of hazardous chemicals and bodily fluids and gives a safe working environment for the employees to work in. the staff’s may use cleaning products which could react with their skin and cause severe burning.All work places must dispose waste in the correct way; it is divided in 5 groups.Management of health and safety at work regulations (1992,1999)This act states the general duties within the Health and Safety at Work Act for employers to manage health and safety.The aim of the regulations is to reduce damage by assessing all potential risks and to create action plans for emergencies. The act requires employers to make arrangements to cover the 'effective planning, organization, control, monitoring and review of health and safety where there are five or more employees, the employer must record these details in writing. This could form part of the Safety Policy document required by the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974Every employer must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to both employees and non-employees like the patients. The employer must record this information and review it on a regular basis. This relates back to the “1974 act”The main requirement of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations is that employers must carry out risk assessments to eliminate or reduce risks