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Unit 3 Assignment 1

Task 4

The Health and Safety at Work Act secures the welfare, health and safety of individuals whilst they are at work. Therefore this promotes the safety of staff within the residential home by providing the staff with a legal framework to work from to ensure all residents, visitors and staff and safe and protected from harm. Health and safety is a key quality within the residential home as there are many residents who are unsteady on their feet or are clumsy, this means the Act must be put into practice to safeguard the residents who may put themselves in harm’s way. A policy that promotes the safety of all in the residential home, the staff, residents and visitors, regarding The Health and Safety at Work Act is the Safety policy. The Safety Policy needs to be created to put in place and manage health and safety within the residential home. It must contain and set out who does what, when and how so hazards can be eliminated, especially due to the nature of the environment. The Safety policy must include practical ways the policy can be implemented such as risk assessments to reduce the risk of hazards and safety training to make sure all staff within the residential home can both keep themselves safe and follow the health and safety act to keep residents and visitors safe also. Objectives must also be included within the policy regarding health and safety, such as, who is responsible for making sure health and safety is being followed, with the job descriptions being outlined in detail. This policy promotes the safety of staff, residents and visitors who enter the premises by making sure procedures are put into place to protect and safeguard those in the residential home. However an issue with this policy is that it has to be put together itself, in which case if it isn’t created effectively it may jeopardise the policy, resulting in the home not following the Health and Safety at Work Act. Another policy relating to The Health and Safety at Work Act, promoting the safety of everyone entering Lakeland residential home is the Moving and Handling policy. This policy aims to avoid the risk of heavy handling and moving that can cause injury, especially to those unsteady on their feet or incapable, such as the residents with mobility problems. The policy makes sure that staff within the residential home are not placed at risk when moving and handling equipment, and also ensures that heavy equipment is not left around putting residents and visitors at risk when they try to move it. This policy aims to put individuals first and meet individuals needs, therefore within the residential home it promotes safety to all entering as tasks involving lifting should be re designed so it’s not as heavy and easier to handle and risk assessments must be made to ensure the safety when moving and handling equipment. An issue with the moving and handling policy is that it may not always be thought of as an issue and residents within the home may not understand that they shouldn’t be lifting things. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health, also known as COSHH, is the legislation that requires staff within the residential home to control substances that are hazardous to health, promoting procedures and gaining and controlling

Unit 3 Assignment 1

Task 4

measures to reduce exposure and harm to health. Therefore it promotes the safety of all residents, staff and visitors by trying to eliminate ill health caused by substances exposed. This can be done by taking measures such as staff knowing exactly what substances are hazardous in order to take extra measures to prevent them being exposed to vulnerable, elderly residents and visitors. With the building work on the conservatory taking place, substances hazardous to health may be lying around and therefore staff and the visitors carrying out building work should take extra precautions to ensure they are not going to cause harm to health. A policy linked and relevant to COSHH is the medication policy. The medication policy ensures that medicine is stored, administered and recorded safely and securely, protecting residents from overdosing due to their forgetfulness, especially the dementia residents. Medication within the residential home is a hazardous substance as it can cause harm so may be managed by staff and therefore the policy promotes the safety of everyone by ensuring that medicine is stored away from those who may misuse it. The policy is most relevant to a care home setting, such as Lakeland residential home, due to the medication managed by the staff. Because of this, staff will be trained on how to effectively store medication to keep all resident, visitors and staff alike, safe, therefore promoting the safety of everyone. However this policy can cause issues as the staff controlling the medication must make sure medication is stored well at all times as well as manage timings and looking after residents making sure they are okay, this can cause issues because staff may neglect one of their jobs in order to carry out another job effectively, not necessarily keep individuals safe. Another policy is the Spillage of Blood and Other Bodily Fluids policy. This policy is designed to keep everyone within the residential home safe and reduce the risk of ill health, infection or disease. Blood and bodily fluids are classed as hazardous substances because of the infection and disease they can potentially carry and spread therefore a policy within COSHH. This policy promotes the safety of all residents, staff and visitors by making sure that guidance is provided to staff on how to effectively manage spillages to eliminate ill health. It aims reduce the exposure of hazardous fluids ensuring procedures are put into practice within the home to promote safety by making sure spillages are cleared immediately with protective clothing to be worn whilst cleaning. This reduces the risk of the hazard causing harm to the staff, residents and visitors entering the premises. Food safety/hygiene regulations The Food safety/hygiene regulations focus on the legislation of keeping food to a good quality and standard and ensuring personal hygiene is maintained to prevent cases of food poisoning. The legislation states that food must be supplied or sold in a hygienic way and the home must ensure particular safety measures, such as different boards for different foods, are controlled maintained and reviewed in order to keep all residents, staff and visitors within the home safe. This legislation is

Unit 3 Assignment 1

Task 4

promoting the safety of all residents, staff and visitors on the premises by ensuring that all food delivered to individuals is to perfect satisfaction and is not going to put the individual in harm, by giving the food poisoning or affecting their health in another way. The decontamination policy links to food safety and hygiene regulations by ensuring that staff are provided with the correct equipment and taught the correct decontamination procedures to keep all those on the premises of the home safe. These procedures involve the correct way of cleaning cutlery and plates in order to stop cross contamination and allow for good food preparation to try and eliminate food poisoning. This policy promotes the safety of all residents, staff and visitors by making sure that the equipment individuals eat off of does not contain any other food particles that can cause harm to their health and makes sure that all individuals are kept safe by making sure allergies and known and that allergens are displayed clearly so that they are avoided for those it concerns. The food hygiene policy also links to the food safety and hygiene regulations. This policy sets out the procedures on how to handle, store, prepare and serve food to the best quality to eliminate any risk to individual’s health. The policy also makes sure that all staff are fully aware of the potential hazards that can occur when handling food and whilst working in the kitchen. One of the procedures of this policy is that current legal requirements must be satisfied and food premises are kept clean and hygienic. This promotes the safety of staff, residents and visitors in the home by reducing the risk of hazards that can occur whilst in the kitchen, by making sure everything is tidy and hazards are minimised, this could be done by cooks wearing hats to stop hair getting in food....