The policies and procedures are set out in the workplace in order to maintain a safe place for work and to ensure all aspects of care and legal framework are covered. The health and safety policies and procedures are also used in the workplace in order to check that employees are using them appropriately in practice. The health and safety policies and procedures also covers safeguarding, reporting of accidents, fire prevention, security, health and safety, food safety, storing medicines and waste disposal etc. The main health and safety responsibilities of social care worker: My responsibilities are to take all of the health and safety trainings relevant to my work role and cooperate with others on health and safety issues. Wear personal protective clothing and ensure that I know how to use equipment for doing care related tasks.
1.2 The employers have a responsibility to make sure correct PPE is made available, organise the necessary training for staff and undertake risk assessments regarding infection control. The employers must inform staff of infection control policies and procedures and make sure they are provided with the necessary information to follow safe practices when working such as a COSHH file, risk assessments and information posters. 2.1 Most of the legal regulations relating to infection control come under the Health and Safety at work act. This act is about ensuring a safe work place for employers, employees and members of the public by minimising accidents and infection spreading at work.
ICO1: The principles of infection prevention and control. Oct 2014 Written by Laura Shaw Q: 1.1 Explain employee’s roles and responsibilities in relation to the prevention and control of infection. Employees roles and responsibilities in the care industry are all different but the one thing they all have a responsibility to do is they must always be aware of and report any individuals health changes and they also have a responsibility to keep all work areas and equipment clean, tidy and free from infection hazards. They are also encouraged to maintain good personal hygiene for themselves as well as their service users. For example when assisting a service user to have a bath, shower or to use the toilet you must always wear the PPE (personal protective equipment) provided when removing any soiled clothing you must dispose of it in the correct way using the sluice bags that are provided and the sluice bags should be tided shut thus preventing any infection among other service users clothes.
COSHH – The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002. The regulations are in place to ensure that the general requirement of an employer is to protect employees and other persons from the hazards of substances used at work by risk assessment, control of exposure, health surveillance and incident planning. COSHH requires settings to label all of hazardous substances clearly and ensure that they are stored correctly and out of harm’s way. At my setting we keep a copy of the COSHH handbook in our Health and Safety
They must also wash hands after using the toilet and before handling food. At all times they must be wearing appropriate PPE and must follow the procedures of disposing of waste safely. They must keep contact items clean and must always report any potential hazards. These things are a part of the code of conduct for care workers and they help with minimising the risk of an outbreak of infection. Care workers have a role in reporting infections or disease outbreaks.
This act is enforced by the Health and Safety executive. The main principles of this act are that employers have to look after the health, safety and welfare of all their employees. Employees and the self employed have to look after their own health and safety. Everyone has to take care of the health and safety of others, for example Members of the public that may be affected by their work. The Health and safety executive is the main person responsible for ensuring that the legislations put in to place in the work place is enforced.
This means that I have the responsibility of ensuring that all staff are trained to current/required Health and Safety standards and that they are provided with access to all necessary Health & Safety information that is required under the current regulatory framework, with particular emphasis upon how it applies to the Care Sector. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (also referred to as HSWA, the HSW Act, the 1974 Act or HASAWA) is the primary piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety in Great Britain. The Health and Safety Executive, with local authorities (and other enforcing authorities) is responsible for enforcing the Act and a number of other Acts and Statutory Instruments relevant to the working environment. Health and Safety Law is a vast arena of complex legislation. However, the reality is that UK law follows the risk that is identified.
The home is residents are safeguarded at all time from cross contamination by developing a strict habit of hand washing when hygiene is an issue using protective equipment to stop cross contamination. * 1.2) Employer’s roles and responsibilities- Employer’s must give us the correct training in all areas of infection control and provide us with the correct personal protective equipment to carry out our tasks. The workplace must be a safe environment for all with any risk assessments being recorded and being made aware of in a risk assessment folder. This applies to equipment and possible hazards with any work related activities in the home or for residents on leave. The home should be able to provide the materials and framework to allow the effective running of the home.
COSHH ( control of substances hazardous to health) 1999, responsibilities’ involve handling hazardous substances such as reduce using hazardous substances or use less to reduce exposure level as much as possible. It is very important to follow Health and Safety Policies and Procedures. Policies and Procedures help to ensure staff, must work within the law and meet the minimum care standards set out by the legislation. Procedures are the steps that are needed to be followed to ensure everyone’s safety within the work place. Attending all mandatory training e.g.
Health and Safety within a social care setting Key legislation relating to health and safety in a social care setting Health and safety at work act 1974 Safety representatives and safety committees’ regulations 1977 COSHH - Control of substances hazardous to health regulations 2002 Personal Protective Equipment at work Regulations 1992 RIDDOR - Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 Food Hygiene Regulations 2005 How health and safety policies and procedures protect people who use social care settings and people who work in social care settings All legislations mentioned above are very important to ensure the health and safety of people who use social care settings. Every piece of legislation describes not only clear guidance of responsibilities but also how we should maintain health and safety to eliminate risks for the people who use care settings. For example, Food Hygiene Regulations 2005 explains the responsibilities whilst handling food to avoid contamination and food poisoning which protects the people who use care settings. Another example is from COSHH which explains the responsibilities involving handling hazardous substances such as reducing using hazardous substances which will reduce exposure level as much as possible. Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states that employers must provide manual handling training and maintain any equipment used for manual handling tasks therefore protecting staff as following the correct procedures will eliminate any risks of injury.