Unit 3 - Health, safety and security in health and social care
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Unit 3
P2- Outline how legislation, policies and procedures relating to health, safety and security
influence health and social care setting
Hazards can be anything that can cause someone harm an example of what might cause hazards to
arise could be. The physical environment, infections, equipment, substances, working conditions,
working practices and security systems. I will now talk about these potential hazards and how to
reduce them.
Health and safety at work act 1974
The health and safety at work act 1974 is an act is a piece of legislation that states the duties of
employers to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees as well as others in the
environment. With this act in place, employers must:
1. Provide and maintain safety equipment and safe systems of work
2. Ensure materials used in the workplace are looked after handled correctly and stored correctly
3. An employer must provide the relevant training, instructions and supervision to ensure staff are
aware and know what they are doing to keep safe
4. Provide a safe place of employment
5. Provide a safe working environment
6. Carry out risk assessments and provide written policies for employees
7. Look after the health and safety of people using the service
Hazards
Employees also have a duty of care to ensure the physical environment is safe and risk free for other
employees and service users. Employees must provide a safe environment by sticking to guidelines,
laws, policies and procedures provided by the employer to keep everyone safe from harm. If risks in
the workplace are not picked up and made safe this can potentially put people at the risk of being
harmed.
The physical environment
, The physical environment is what is surrounding you a potential hazard that can occur from the
physical environment in a health and social care setting could be. Poor ventilation this is a hazard
related to their environment and it is important that the air in the room is breathable and ventilated
so no employees and service users develop breathing difficulties. This is a health risk because if the
air is also contaminated with something like asbestos it can cause cancer and serious illness. Also
poor ventilation can affect asthmatic individuals so to prevent illness and allow a breathable
environment windows should be opened to allow air and the ventilation should be replaced as soon
as possible.
Also in a hospital it is important that the lighting in all the rooms are set the correct way to avoid
unexpected trips or falls. Which could then have a big impact on them depending on who they
service user is. If a resident in a care homes room is unclean and full of clutter this can be a hazard to
the resident because they could end up falling over and harming themselves. Clutter is also a trip
hazard for staff as they may be trying to get a resident out of bed and end up tripping over the mess.
So to prevent this from being a hazard it is important that no objects are left on floor, floors should
be clean, the floors should not be left wet but if are wet a sign is there to support this hazard so the
residents and staff are safe if they walk around the wet floor.
If room temperature is set too high or too low this can be hazardous to the service users and staff
working. If a temperature in a service users room is set on low they may be more prone to getting a
cold and a cough. Alternately if the room temperature is too high the service user is at risk of
dehydration and may sweat. So in care homes it is important that each room is set with central
heating so the rooms can be manually set to meet the service user’s needs. Preventing temperature
being a hazard to staff and residents.
Infections
RIDDOR
The reporting of injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences regulations 2013 is a health and safety
legislation that states all incidents no matter how big or small must be reported and kept in a record.
The purpose of this legislation is also to prevent infection because it is a must that an incident
involving around infection is reported so it can then be prevented in the future. To maintain RIDDOR
an employer and employees must:
1. Report all reportable accidents, injuries, illnesses, dangerous occurrences, work-related deaths
to the employer or a health and safety executive.
2. Keeping all records in a file, accident book or on a computer to be easily accessed.
3. Understanding patterns in injuries and preventing them when carrying out risk assessments.
4. Keep all records up to date and organized.
If procedures are not being followed correctly it can cause harm on yourself or others around you.
Infections can be caused by eating contaminated food. An example of an infection being a hazard
could be getting salmonella which can be caused by eating undercooked food, out of date food or
using dirty equipment to cook with. Infections are serious hazards that can cause a lot of harm so it
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