1. Understand the different responsibilities relating to health and safety in social care settings.
1.1 List legislation relating to general health and safety in a social care setting.
• Health and safety at work Act 1974
• The regulatory reform order 2005
• Care Standard Act 2000
• Reporting of injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrence’s regulations 2013
• Environmental Protection Act 1990
• The management of health and safety at work regulations 1999.
• Manual handling operations regulations 1992
1.2 Describe the main points of health and safety policies and procedures.
The most important thing about health & safety policies & procedures are to keep everyone safe & also to …show more content…
• First Aid
• Quick response team role – This can be done once completing the Management of Aggression & Violence course
1.5 Describe how to access additional support and information relating to health and safety.
In my role as an Mental Healthcare Assistant, there are a variety of ways I could access additional support & information regarding health & safety in the work place, such as;
Intranet – This is found on the default homepage on the internet browser. The intranet is full of information regarding anything related to my role & also other job roles that are based in my work place.
Colleagues – Asking colleagues is a good way to find out any information about policies & procedures. They can also give advice on good health & safety matters for instance to be weary on where you are sitting in a room with a certain service user.
2. Understand the use of risk assessments in relation to health and safety.
2.1 Define what is meant by “hazard” and “risk”.
A hazard is any source of potential damage, harm or adverse health effects on something or someone under certain conditions at work. An example of an hazard is there was a water spillage on the …show more content…
Describe how to use a health and safety risk assessment.
There is a widely used risk assessment table that often looks like the one below. On this table you would assess the likely hood of an incident taking place & also the severity of the incident.
Another risk assessment that can be done is that each individual is risk assessed. When a patient is first admitted to a new ward, they will be assessed by their primary nurses & this will determine what things they can & can’t do. For instance, if someone has previous history of self-harming, they may not be allowed to have razor access to have a shave unless they are supervised by a member of staff.
2.3 Explain how and when to report potential health and safety risks that have been identified.
Any potential health & safety risks would be reported to the nurse in charge of the shift & also immediately to the ward manager upon finding any potential health & safety risks. An example of this is that everyday checks are done throughout the ward & anything that may be a risk or may be broken or need repairing will be reported.
2.4 Describe how risk assessment can help address dilemmas between an individual’s rights and health and safety