Health and Safety in the Health and Social Care Workplace

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Table of Content

Contents
Introduction: ................................................................................................................................................. 3
Task 01: ......................................................................................................................................................... 3
1.1 Reviewing the Systems, Policies and Procedures for Communicating Information on Health and
Safety in the Health and Social Care Workplace in Accordance with Legislative Requirements ................. 3
1.2 Assessing the Responsibilities in a specific Health and Social Care Workplace for the Management of
Health and Safety in Relation to Organizational Structures ......................................................................... 5
1.3 Analyzing the Health and Safety Priorities Appropriate for a Specific Health and Social Care
Workplace ..................................................................................................................................................... 6
Task 02: ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
2.1 Analysis on how Information from Risk Assessment informs Care Planning for Individuals and
Organizational Decision making about Policies and Procedures .................................................................. 8
2.2 Analysis on the Impact of One aspect of Health and Safety Policy on Health and Social Care Practice
and its Customers ......................................................................................................................................... 9
2.3 Discussion on how Dilemmas Encountered in Relation to Implementing Systems and Policies for
Health, Safety and Security may be addressed .......................................................................................... 10
2.4 Analysis on the Effect of Non-compliance with Health and safety Legislation in a Health and Social
Care Workplace ........................................................................................................................................... 11
Task 03: ............................................................................................................................................... 11
3.1 Explaining the how Health and Safety Policies and Practices are monitored and reviewed................ 11
3.2 Analyzing the Effectiveness of Health and safety Policies and Practices in the Workplace in Promoting
a Positive, Healthy and Safe Culture ........................................................................................................... 12
3.3 Evaluating the Own Contributions to Placing the Health and safety Needs of individuals at the Centre
of practice ................................................................................................................................................... 13
Conclusion: .................................................................................................................................................. 14
References: ................................................................................................................................................. 14

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Introduction:
In health and social care, health and safety is an important consideration for all practitioners. The
importance of continually monitoring the implementation of health and safety legislation and
policies for the health and social care workplace has been explained in this assignment.

Task 01:
Understanding how Health and Safety Legislation is implemented in the Health and Social
Care Workplace

Health is the most important concern for human being. Safety is internally related to health
service. For this reason there have been formed different types of laws and policies related to
health and safety for the health and social care workplace. Details have been discussed in the
below.

1.1 Reviewing the Systems, Policies and Procedures for Communicating

Information on Health and Safety in the Health and Social Care
Workplace in Accordance with Legislative Requirements
There are a number of legislations to support health and safety in the health and social care
workplace. Such as:

 Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

A wide range of issues relating to workplace health, safety and welfare across different sectors
has been covered in this act. As a health and safety requirements, under this act employees have
a general obligation to take care of others and cooperate with employers.

 Management of Health and Safety at work Regulations 1992

This act is the result of refining act 1974 where this act needs employers to carry out risk
assessment and recording the significant findings. This act also compels employers to make
arrangements for implementing the health and safety measures, to set up emergency procedures

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provide clear information and training to employees and work together with other employers
sharing the same workplace.

 Health and Safety Regulations 1981

According to this regulation employers must ensure first aid equipment, trained first aiders must
present in the health and social care workplace and employees must aware about first aid
arrangement.

 Food Safety Act 1990, Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995 and Food
Safety (Temperature Control) Regulations 1995

It covers the service of food, preparation and storage and the requirement of registration for food
businesses whether they are run for profit of not. Canteens, clubs and care homes are included in
a food business. According to these legislations the local authorities are responsible for
enforcement through environmental health and Trading Standards. If local authorities fail to
meet the requirements the local Standard Agency can take intervention (HSG, 2000).

By above legislations health and safety in the health and social care workplace is implemented.
In UK, Department of Health is implementing health and safety policies in the health and social
care workplace. This department maintains a model that is given below.

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Figure: Implementation Model (Source: Pall, 2012)

It is the obligation of Health Department to make policy for providing proper health care and
social care services to the people in different areas in UK. The department provides policy to
other organization. They oblige to monitor the services of other organizations. Department of
health ensure the health and social care in local level. To make sure the service to all segments of
people, local government helps (Stranks, J., 2005).

1.2 Assessing the Responsibilities in a specific Health and Social Care

Workplace for the Management of Health and Safety in Relation to
Organizational Structures
Health and safety in the health and social care workplace are planned by government institutions
as well as non-government institutions in UK. The government of UK has a health care and
public health system. In this system, responsibilities are distributed from local authorities to
department of health. Here also includes service takers and providers, clinical commissioning
groups, NHS commissioning board, monitoring system and local and public health. This system
is an integrated system in which all organizational bodies have responsibilities in the context of
health and safety in health and social care workplace.

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Management is another important subject of health and safety in the health and social care in
workplace. In health and safety management includes:

 Systematic use of techniques: It is important to use techniques in systematically for

identifying and removing hazards in health and social care workplace.
 Controlling the risk: To influence the behavior and encourage attitudes during techniques
using potential risk must be controlled.

So responsibilities related to management of health and safety in the health and social care
workplace can be assessed a physically disabled individual’s care and support plan context.

For example: A physically disabled individual

In this context, the care and support plan includes to take the disabled individual to a café or
restaurant every week for dining out as they are unable to do this alone. The individual wants to
eat burger restaurant every week. But the support workers believe that burgers are unhealthy and
should not be eaten that regularly. Here health and safety service providers can make individual
mental capacity for taking healthy decision. But should it be good for support worker to hinder
them taking fatty food? In this context, the support workers should use encouraging and
supporting tone of voice that they don’t feel bullied. Support workers will also concern them to
take responsibility for eating unhealthy food. So, responsibility and management are related to
organization as well as individuals.

1.3 Analyzing the Health and Safety Priorities Appropriate for a Specific
Health and Social Care Workplace
Different service provider’s institutions maintain different health and safety priorities. But,
Health and safety in the health and social care workplace context there are needed to do some
steps for giving services of a specific health and social care workplace. In this context, here,
what steps should be taken priority for a disabled individual’s health and social care workplace
discussed below.

Individual Health Context:

 At first it is needed to understand disabled individual’s behavior.

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  To discover the reasons behind such behavior.
 After discovering the causes treatment will be started.
 To give help dealing with the social issues and environment.
 To cooperate disabled individual managing his or her anger.
 It must be tried to know about the improvement of his or her health conditions according
to the guidelines for communicating such individual.

Individual Safety Context:

 To take a disabled individual such secured place where risky electric line not present.
 To take free the care workplace from dangerous tools; such as: stab.
 To take free from taking drug.
 To stay fire safety if he or she is a smoker.

For such disabled individual is also needed the specific and relevant information. By creating
perfect relationship between the individuals and health care workers this information can be
provided. Here, must include:

 Organizational and services transparency must be ensured.

 Public access must be guaranteed in the health and social care workplace.
 Effective sources and choice availability mist be ensured.
 It is important to maintain relationship and communication between services takers and
providers.
 Finally new policy must be taken and implemented.

Task 02:
Understanding the Ways in which Health and Safety Requirements Impact on Customers
and the work of Practitioners in the Health and Social Care Workplace

To understand the ways in which health and safety requirements impact on customers and the
work of practitioners in the health and social care workplace includes risk assessment, care
planning, impact of policy on care practice and customer, dilemmas, and effect of non-
compliance. Details in the following contents:

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2.1 Analysis on how Information from Risk Assessment informs Care
Planning for Individuals and Organizational Decision making about
Policies and Procedures
Information on health and social care workplace services is an important part for getting, taking
and providing services in the health and safety context. It can be individual care planning as well
as organizational decision making context. This information can be collected by risk assessment.
Risk assessment refers to the identification of hazards, potential severity of harm resulting from
each hazard, calculation the degree of risk, controlling the risk, monitoring and reappraising the
risk. This information getting by risk assessment can be beneficial for individual care planning
and organizational decision making about policies and procedures. Risk assessment includes:

 It is identified as a risk control.

 It is implemented in accordance with modern industries HSEC procedure managing
HSEC risk.
 Personnel are required to review and amend the JSA.
 To ensure that all hazards are controlled.
 And any residual risk is mitigated to as reasonably practicable

So, information getting from risk assessment can be beneficial for individual care planning as
well as organizational decision making about policies and procedures. Such beneficiations are
given below (Carr, S., 2010).

Individual Care Planning Context:

 To know about different care services of different health and social care institutions.
 To appraise the services of health and social care organizations.
 To know about better health and social care providers.
 To know the better way of getting maximum care services by minimum cost.
 To know the right of getting health and social care services.
 Finally an individual can take his or her decision about health and social care services
by the information from risk assessment.

Organizational Decision Making Context:

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  Information by getting risk assessment an organization can know about policies and
procedures related to health and social care.
 Organization can also know about new policies and procedures related to health and
social care workplace.
 By knowing information from risk assessment organizations can make decision about
what and how way they give services their client.
 They can also be conscious about client right, their right as well as obligation.

2.2 Analysis on the Impact of One aspect of Health and Safety Policy on
Health and Social Care Practice and its Customers
In UK, there are various kinds of health and safety policies in the context of health and social
care workplace. These policies cover different aspect related to health and social care. These
policies have positive impact as well as have some limitations and negative impact. Such policies
are:

 Health and Safety Regulations 1981

According to this regulation employers must ensure first aid equipment, trained first aiders must
present in the health and social care workplace and employees must aware about first aid
arrangement.

 Food Safety Act 1990, Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995 and Food
Safety (Temperature Control) Regulations 1995

It covers the service of food, preparation and storage and the requirement of registration for food
businesses whether they are run for profit of not. Canteens, clubs and care homes are included in
a food business. According to these legislations the local authorities are responsible for
enforcement through environmental health and Trading Standards. If local authorities fail to
meet the requirements the local Standard Agency can take intervention (HSE leaflet, 1996).

According to above regulations, health and social care providers are oblige to give first aid to the
care taker and the local authorities are responsible for enforcement through environmental health
and Trading Standards. If local authorities fail to meet the requirements the local Standard
Agency can take intervention. But in this context all clients don’t get equal opportunity because

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of racial discrimination. Discrimination can be based on race, color, region, religion, and
immigrant context (Balarajan Y, ed., 2011). Therefore, policies must be taken with the defense
of such discrimination.

2.3 Discussion on how Dilemmas Encountered in Relation to

Implementing Systems and Policies for Health, Safety and Security may
be addressed
In UK, policies for health, safety and security are not only give positive impact it also creates
dilemma in relation to implement. Dilemma refers to a situation in which a difficult choice has to
be made between two or more alternatives, especially equally undesirable ones. There are
different types of dilemma in safety. Such as:

 Resource implication
 Risk to self and others
 Rights of service-users and safety consequence and
 Differing priorities between stakeholders (change in legislation).

Health and social care workers as well as care takers can fall into different dilemma related to
health and social care decision. One of the dilemmas is ethical dilemma. In this context dilemma
must be encountered by health and social care providers and takers. Ethical dilemma can be
encountered by following ways.

 Managing own values

 Applying social work ethics
 Accountability and risk assessment

Another important dilemma is the law versus human right. In this context what should social care
workers do when the law conflicts with the values and ethics of their professor? Such dilemma
faced by M. Coleman, senior social worker at Active 8, a company in Liverpool that provides
support and accommodation for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. She says that she has
faced a constant battle to meet the needs of service users within a strict legal framework.

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For example, she has to advise asylum seekers to continue to report to the Home Office, due to
UK Border Agency policy. But, she said there is always a risk that they will be detained.
Coleman manages this dilemma by making sure asylum seekers are aware of the risk, Coleman
managed this dilemma. So they can make an informed choice about what is best for them.

2.4 Analysis on the Effect of Non-compliance with Health and safety

Legislation in a Health and Social Care Workplace
If health and social care providers as well as takers are non-compliance with health and safety
legislation in the health and social care workplace it will different effect. Effect of such non-
compliance is broadly two kinds; personal and professional. Personal effect of non-compliance
includes: injuries, health implications and fatalities. Professional effect of non-compliance
includes: disciplinary action, prosecution, fines and closure of the setting.

Task 03:
Understanding the Monitoring and Review of Health and Safety in the Health and social
care workplace

It includes monitoring, reviewing, effectiveness and evaluation to understand the monitoring and
review of health and safety in the health and social care workplace. In the following contents,
details have been discussed.

3.1 Explaining the how Health and Safety Policies and Practices are
monitored and reviewed
Monitoring health and safety policies and practices is an important part for health and safety
management. Responsibilities do not end here when health and safety policy written and
launched. It is the just first step to implement the policy in the working environment. Since
health and safety management changes continually it is needed to be proactive in monitoring the
effectiveness of the policy. Health and social care monitoring and reviewing is needed for cost,
morale and legal reasons. There are two ways of health and safety policies monitoring and
reviewing in generally. Such as:

 Proactive Monitoring: It means taking action before accident happen. It takes two forms:
- To check implemented standards and controlling management need regular inspections.

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 - Safety audit is needed in more detailed.
 Reactive Monitoring: It refers to the examining events after they happened. It involves
leaning from mistakes. Whether they have resulted in injuries, illness, and damage to
property or just near misses.

Regular health and safety inspection includes:

 It is important to be inspected the checklist of the processes, activities and the parts of
premises.
 For identifying hazards and potentials risks a section is needed.
 To take space for comments on any remedial action that is recommended or has already
been decided upon.
 For completing the remedial action an agreed timetable must be determined.

Therefore, a proper monitoring and reviewing initiatives must be taken for promoting health and
safety condition in the health and social care workplace (Dowding, L & Barr, J. 1999).

3.2 Analyzing the Effectiveness of Health and safety Policies and

Practices in the Workplace in Promoting a Positive, Healthy and Safe
Culture
Effectiveness of health and safety policies depends on promoting health and social care
workplace. Promoting health and social care focuses on a number of factors. Such as: the
organizational environment, the promotion of healthy lifestyles and non-occupational factors.
Non-occupational factors include family welfare, community and home conditions. A effective
model of WHO related to health and safety in the health and social care workplace is given
below.

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Figure: Effectiveness Model of Healthy and Safety (WHO, 2013)

Another act of the Management of Health and Safety at work Regulations 1992 is the result of
refining act 1974 where this act needs employers to carry out risk assessment and recording the
significant findings. This act also compels employers to make arrangements for implementing
the health and safety measures, to set up emergency procedures provide clear information and
training to employees and work together with other employers sharing the same workplace. In
the context of case Mr. Franklin who is physically disabled has got first aid service from health
and social care providers. Therefore, it can be said Health and Safety Regulation1981was
effective for Mr. Franklin (Brown, T. M.; Cueto, M.; Fee, E. 2006).

3.3 Evaluating the Own Contributions to Placing the Health and safety
Needs of individuals at the Centre of practice
There are two points of evaluation. One is personal evaluation, another is professional
evaluation. As an own contribution in health and safety, it is important to ensure own actions
reducing risk to health and safety. It includes identifying the hazards, evaluating the risk,
knowing the responsibilities, making and applying policies as well as monitoring and reporting.
From own practices of health and safety in the health and social care workplace it can be said
that the implementation of Health and Safety Regulation 1981 is well. People get first aid service

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immediately. But it needs more intervention for removing various discriminations. An
evaluation model has presented in below.

1.
Policy Making 2.
Monitoring &
&
Identifying the
Implementation Challenges
5.
Care
Availability
& creating
3.
Safe Culture
Managing
Challenges and
4. Reviewing the
Accountability & Policies
Competency

Figure: Evaluation Model (Source: Self Study)

Without these proper training is needed for developing providers’ skill.

Conclusion:
In a conclusion, it can be said that to implement health and safety in the health and social care
workplace an integrated policy is needed by which all the people (immigrants, ethnic group,
racial, regional, and religious group) get surety to taking equal opportunity of health and safety
in the health and social care workplace. To develop health service providers competent an
integrated training is also needed. Without it is important to be known the individual for taking
his or her health risk responsibility.

References:
 Balarajan Y, Selvaraj S & Subramanian SV (2011) Health care and equity in UK.
 Booklet HSG (183): 5 Steps to Risk Assessment - Case Studies (HSE)
 Brown, T. M.; Cueto, M.; Fee, E. (2006). "The World Health Organization and the
Transition from "International" to "Global" Public Health"
 Carr, S., (2010). Enabling risk, ensuring safety: Self-directed support and personal
budgets, Report 36, London: Social Care Institute for Excellence.

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 Dean, K. (1996). Using theory to guide policy relevant health promotion research, Health
Promotion International, Vol-11, No.-1, PP (19-26)
 Dowding, L & Barr, J. (1999), Managing in Health Care: A Guide For Nurses, Midwives
& Health Visitors, 5th edition, Prentice Hall
 Gravestock, S. & Bouras, N. (1996), Services for adult with learning disabilities and
mental health needs. Psychiatric Bulletin, Vol-19, PP (288-290).
 Hale A, Ytehus I, 2004, ‘Changing requirements for the safety profession: roles and
tasks’, Journal of Occupational Health & Safety – Australia and New Zealand
 HSG 2000, Managing Health and safety on Work Experience: A Guide for Organizers.
 Pall N (2012) Primary healthcare needs top priority. India Health Progress.
 Rodin J. & de Ferranti D. (2012) Universal Health Coverage: The Third Global Health
Transition?
 Stranks, J. (2005). Health and Safety Law (5th ed. ed.). London: Prentice Hall.

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