There are several pieces of legislation and many various guidelines that you have to work within, as a health and social care worker.
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, is the main piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety in the United Kingdom.
Employers are responsible for the health and safety of employees, workers from other organisations, and visitors while they are on the premises. All employers must:
- Carry out a thorough risk assessment before opening for business, and it should be updated regularly.
- Ensure that there is a health and safety policy written for the setting and appoint someone to be responsible for health and safety.
- Keep a record of all accidents and incidents.
- Provide safety equipment, written health and safety information and training.
- Ensure the workplace is fully insured. Employers’ compulsory liability insurance must be taken out and public liability is strongly recommended, in case an incident occurs and the business is found to be at fault.
Policies and procedures have influences health and social care settings. Policies and procedures reflect the unique nature of individual organisations. Every building is slightly different. The needs of the people who are being cared for differ from one setting to another. Policies may also reflect the requirements of local authorities.
Every employer has to produce their own health and safety policies and procedures to state how they will operate under the law. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states that organisations must have a health and safety policy.
There are also other ranges of policies and procedures that most organisations have. These may include:
- Safeguarding
- Reporting of accidents
- Disposal of body wastes
- Fire evacuation
- Security of premises, possessions and individuals
- Cleaning
- Food safety
There are other policies and procedures that are only relevant in certain settings. For example:
- Storage of and dispensing of medicine
- Lone working
These policies should be monitored regularly to ensure that the policy is keeping staff, visitors and the service users safe.
Describe how health and safety legislation, policies and procedures promote the safety of individuals in a health or social care setting. (M1)
Legislation, policies and procedures promote the safety of individuals in a health or social care setting.
Since the Health and Safety at Work Act was first passed in 1974 there have been additional regulations that have been added. These reflect changes in practice, technology and understanding. These additional regulations consist of:
- The Food Safety Act – 1990
- Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations – 1995
- Manual Handling Operations Regulations – 1992
- Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) – 1995
- Data Protection Act – 1998
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations – 1999
- Care Homes Regulations
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) – 2002
- Civil Contingencies Act – 2004
- Care Minimum Standards – 2003
These legislations, policies and procedures are all used to promote the health and safety of individuals in the settings.
In my current placement, Sonning Common Primary School there are quite a few policies, procedures and legislations that are used to provide a safer setting for the children. For example: The Data Protection Act 1998 – This relates to personal information held in electronic and paper formats. This information should be relevant and not excessive. It should have been obtained for lawful reasons. This should be current and accurate. This information is not held for longer than necessary. It is protected against unauthorised access and accidental destruction.
Health and social care services necessarily hold a lot of sensitive information about the individual service users. This information is only used for legitimate purposes.
In my work placement I have access to some of this information, such as allergies. I had to agree to never disclose any of this information to any unauthorised person such as for example, a family member or friend. Under no circumstances should any personal information be given out over the telephone.
Bibliography
Health And Social Care – Book 1 – BTEC National – Level 3 – Beryl Stretch and Mary Whitehouse.
by
jesshc (student)
