Health and Safety in the Health and Social Care Workplace - Essay Example

Health and Safety in the Health and Social Care Workplace The practice of health care at a work place is focused to the practitioners, their employers and other groups who play the role of supporting them. These policies are of interest to the care givers in the health unit and other social work places. The policies have been put in place to help promote health and avoid hazards in the work place. A duty is placed on the owners and the managers of the heath units and the social care places to conduct a risk assessment of the workplace as required by the legislation under the act of health and safety .The assessment is always conducted remotely without necessarily visiting the location of the health and social care units. This implies that the team of employees is not always involved in the assessment and even the outcome of the report is rarely used in the practice. Miller (2009) points out that the main aim of assessment is to ascertain the occurrence of hazards, scrutinize the degree of the risk and ensure that preventive measures are put in place so as to minimize the effects of the risk. The staff is usually not aware of the hazards and the probable actions required curbing the risk, this is because they do not take part in the risk assessment procedure. However this creates a dilemma in accordance with the health and safety at work in act 1974. Communicating Information on Health and Safety Herbert (2007) points out that Symons Madge and Associates have come up with a process of coming up with a risk assessment of a work place in the health and social care places. The process involves the staff of the institution in assessing the risk. It also ensures that the owners and managers are in compliance with their responsibilities as stated in the health and safety at work act. This process organizes workshops that facilitate the introduction of the legislation that relates to the health and safety and risk assessment at the work place. The workshop also intensifies on the importance of the legislation in the health and social care units. In the workshop, there is introduction of a model that is used to undertake risk assessments in work place in accordance with the requirements of the act. In carrying out the assessment the staff team is used to identify the hazards, they are supposed to quantify those risks and develop a control measure that can minimize the risk. Their assessment is edited which will then comprise the risk assessment of the workplace. The procedures will then be detailed for reviews in the future risk assessment of the workplace. This approach is advantageous because of the following reasons: The risk assessments in the workplace are conducted only in a singular session and will require only formatting and delegation to staff to ensure the obligation of the health and safety legislation are met. All the employees of the health and social care units should take part in the risk assessment procedure which allows them to have a hand in the control measures rather than the measures being imposed by the managers. The risk assessment of the place can always be revised in similar manner incase the degree of the risk alters. Provision of a form to record the risk assessment and the reviews is mandatory. Responsibilities of the Managers or O wners Miller (2009) points out that the responsibility of the management in accordance with the organizational structure will require the employers or the managers, owners and any other external agency involved in the running of the setting to monitor and constantly evaluate the assessment process. This is crucial in circumstances when the degree of the risk changes and new control measures have to be put in place. In addition to monitoring, they will also be required to inspect and ensure that all the safety aids are put in place. Such safety aids include; wheel chairs, ventilations, walking aids for patients who cannot disabilities, security measures such as lockable doors, gates, alarms , cameras patrols and general maintenance of the health and social care setting. Miller (2009) points out that they have to ensure proper planning in ensuring that the measures put in place are meeting the needs of the required safety in the setting. They should also update the policies as per the requirements of the health and safety acts put in place. For instance a health and safety advisor will ensure that the employees working in hygiene roles provide services that are professional in their specific organization. They are apart of a team of fire safety, estate officers, human resource managers and estate officers. As a team, they will advise the clinical and non clinical employees in the health and social care setting. Miller (2009) points out that they should ensure that the specific organization meet the standards of health and safety legislation and the company’s strategies and arrangements. Their role is more geared towards preventing rather than curing. Basically, they recommend safer working practices. In addition, a public health researcher gets involved in looking into and reviewing evidences that are laid on knowledge from a number of sources and brings projects that are specific topically in various areas of health as requested by associated organization. Planners get evidenced reports from labor institutions, managers and owners of the health and social care places. The information delivered to the planners is majorly from the reviews made on risk assessment in the specific workplaces. Economic principles are also vital tool in the evaluation and planning of the healthcare and social care setting . They provide estimates associated with changes required in improving the services offered. Priorities in the Health and Social Care Settings  Health, safety and security are the prioritized needs of any health and social care setting. The group is mostly motivated to improve the working conditions, reduce accidents that are work related and total wellbeing of their customers. Lewis (2010) points out that the staff in the health and social care settings has to curb with a lot of activities and situations that could sometimes pose a risk to their health. They are put in a risk of work related accidents. Various measures are therefore put in place to minimize the occurrence of such risks while on job. Many o the circumstances in which the healthcare staff conducts their duties and the multiplicity of the tasks they undertake presents itself with greater magnitude of hazards. The healthcare sector itself is large, so does the social care settings. In this sector, more than half of the employees are women. Addressing Dilemmas Hale (2008) posits that the nature of the work they carry out whether it is giving frontline care for the disabled, mentally or physically challenged, administering to a patient or just cleaning, it makes it completely vital that health and safety measures are prioritized in such a working condition. However, the European data indicates that a given percentage of healthcare workers think that their health and safety is jeopardized because the nature of the work they do is higher than the requirements in European Union. In certain exposures, human physical violence might be reported from colleagues, and mentally challenged patients. Such cases are higher prevalent in health care and social care settings Herbert (2009) points out those health workers are exposed to a great number of risks which include: biological, in that they can be infected by needle stick accidents. Chemical risks from drugs used in cancer treatments and disinfectants. Physical risks of ionizing radiations, in that when handling sick patients they are exposed to ergonomic risks. They are also exposed to psychosocial risks which stem from violence and sometimes shift working. However there are ways in which the risks mentioned above can be curbed Preventing needle stick injuries in the health and social care workplace Workers may be infected by blood pathogens if they suffered needle stick injuries while administering to the patient. They may transfer bacteria, fungi, viruses or other micro-organisms if they suffered sharp injuries. The common disease they would risk being infected with include,; hepatitis B and Immune- Deficiency disease. However, there are more than 20 other diseases they would risk being infected by the needle stick injuries. Burke (2009) estimates that there are over 1 million needles stick injuries annually in Europe. These points out that not only professional medics are at risk but also nurses who work in the acute medical environment, they bear the highest risk of needles stick injuries. Only other workers such as the support staff have the potential to only sustain injuries. As our society advances under the emergence of better technology and experience a shift in social and economic conditions, so does our areas of work; working practices and procedures are constantly altering. New conditions bring with them new challenges and risks for healthcare staff and employers which eventually demand technical, political and administrative approaches that can bring about working conditions that have high levels of safety and health. This way of thinking was emphasized by the European Commission on strategy of health and safety at work, (2007) where they saw a need to get prepared for the new situations. In anticipating fresh and emerging risks that are both linked to technical advances and social changes it is important that the type of the new risks are brought under control. This will need continual observation of the risk itself which is based on a systematic information collection and scientific judgments. The EU therefore set up an observation agency which main aim was to carry out the proposed tasks. Therefore before the risk is controlled, its emergent is first anticipated by possible analysis of social, technical and economic changes. Effect of Legislation on Social Care Settings Social care settings such as schools have been impacted in respect to how safety and health are managed. This safety and health is geared towards the employers, the pupils and other people who have direct or indirect contact with the school such as the parents, support staff and the neighboring. According to Lewis (2010) Health and safety under act 1974 states that the employer has the responsibility of providing the safety and health of the employees. In a social care setting such as a school, this can be implemented by ensuring that there is a clear protocol of reporting any prevalent of a hazard to the person concerned so that remedy can be taken as soon as possible. It is mandatory for every school setting to carry out a risk assessment at regular interval in the premises to identify whether there can be any hazard in advance. Herbert (2007) affirms that the risk assessment is supposed to involve all the member of staff so that they can be able to identify any impending hazard timely. However, they are made aware that risk assessment is a process that is continuous. Each school setting should come up with a health and safety policy and see to it that all members off staff have been trained as to the content of the policy. By so doing the staff has to keep in mind that their actions should not by any mean cause harm to other parties in the school. If there are safety equipments available then the staff should make sure that they are used appropriately. For instance, gloves must always be used to handle chemical compounds and so they should be worn when handling such materials. All other safety equipments or any equipment used in day to day activities should meet the standards of safety. This is usually verified by checking the verification mark of standards. Non Compliance Failure to comply with health and safety regulations fines are imposed or one can face prosecution if need be. Prosecution is the major means that enforcing health and safety bodies hold to report those suspected to have breached the health and safety regulations. The health and safety regulations have limited sentencing options and hence if one is convicted they are required to pay a fine. Hale (2008) posits that the wider criminal justice however provides several ways which prosecutes an offender. Some may be estimated to offenses related to health and safety which is true especially to those who give incentives so as to comply with the law, those who might want to enhance the role of victims or those who would want to offer restitution to employees or ensure that the lesson has been taken into account and there will be no repetition of such offenses. In Europe and Australia many several health and safety systems have already been put into practice. There is however a thought to introduce penalties in the health and safety offenders. There is a thought of restorative element in the judicial system. For instance, various cautions are laid down failure to observe them may result to breaching of the law. Burke (2009) says that all employers carrying out regular assessment of their premises should ensure probable hazards are identified and control measures put in place in advance. The findings should be well kept in record and reviews made to it accordingly. All employees should be part of the risk assessment and they should report to the concerned body in the workplace. The employer should also have a health and safety policy which should be well demonstrated to all the staff. For new and expectant mothers, possible risks that might arise to them should also be identified this should be done eve n when their is no one who is expectant at the working place at the time of risk assessment.. If there exists risks that are significant to an expectant mother, then her working conditions should be re- adjusted by giving suitable alternative work, if necessary a maternity leave. If there are no risk assessment for expectant mothers or a newly mother, or rather there are refusal to employ a pregnant mother because her pregnant condition cannot allow to perform her duties, then their will be a breach of the law under the equality act 2010. Consequently, the concerned employee may file compensation claim for failure of offering her a suitable alternative work that might be conducive to her condition before dismissing her on maternity basis. She can also claim compensating if her maternity suspension has not been paid. Monitoring and Reviewing Health and Safety Policies Health and safety policies are evaluated and monitored through a body that assesses the risk through a professional management system. New policies are always improved from continuous evaluation of the existing risks and with a clear anticipation of changes that might bring about a new kind of risks. This is done basing on careful and keen risk assessment. If policies have been put in place, their performance is monitored by the use of information gotten from the monthly significant occurrences in the health and safety workplace. Hale, (2008) points out that from the events, a policy is then formulated by the chief executive committee of the workplace after being approved by the board. The final stage is attained when all the groups approve the policy and is finally published and released to the external sources. Regular reviewing of the policies ensures that an internal best practice is achieved. It also ensures that all facilities have been tailored to meet the standards of the health and safety regulations. Audits are also conducted so as to achieve a continuous improvement all round the workplace. According to the European Commission (2007) the frequency of the audit is determinable by the inherent risk, its scale and performances of the policy in the past. In conclusion, health and safety measures are a vital tool to be incorporated by any health and social care unit. This ensures the safety of the staff and their customers as a whole. The employer has a mandate to ensure that facilities put in place are in accordance with the standards of the health and safety regulations. Continuous assessment of the risk in the work place is also vital so that any impending hazards are identified and precautionary measures identified appropriately. However, with the changing economic, technological and social trends, there is an emergence of new kind of risks. This type of risks can be curbed if new strategized in health and safety policies of the workplace. References Burke, R. Cooper, C. (2009). Occupational Health and Safety: What Causes Accidents and Errors in the Work Place. n.a European Commission (2007) Health and Safety Statistics in the Health and Social Workplace. A Journal of Health and Safety. 4 (3) 16-22 Hale, A. (2008) How Policies And Procedures Promote The Safety Of Individuals In A Health Or Social Workplace. .Journal of Occupational Health and Safety. 4 (4) 33-41 Herbert, K.(2007). Managing the Risk of A Work Place. Health International Journal Of Workplace 5 (7) 13-16 Lewis G. (2010) Health and Safety In the Work Place. Journal Of Public Health. 23(1): 31-43 Miller, J. (2009). Monitoring and Controlling Health and Safety Policies. Www.Healthpromotionagency.Org.Uk/Re Retrieved Nov. 30th 2012 Perry, P. (2003). Health and safety questions and answers: A practical approach. London: Thomas Telford. Stranks, J. W. (2006). The A-Z of health and safety. London: Thorogood. Read More