CQ3 level 3 unit 8 health & safety Essay

Explain how to access additional support & information relating to health & safety? There are many ways to access different sorts of support and information in relation to the health and safety if it is needed. You could seek additional support and information by talking to the manager within the home or you could talk to your supervisor. You could discuss these matters with more experienced work colleagues who could give you extra information on health and safety. Outside organisations will also help with understanding of the correct to adhere to the rules  define a hazard. A hazard is something that can cause harm, eg electricity, chemicals, working up a ladder, noise, a keyboard, a bully at work, stress. Basically, a hazard can cause harm or adverse effects Define a Risk: A risk is the chance, high or low, that any hazard will actually cause somebody harm Risk is the chance or probability that a person will be harmed or experience an adverse health effect if exposed to a hazard. Explain why it is important to assess health and safety risks. A risk assessment is an important step in protecting your workers and your business, as well as complying with the law. It helps you focus on the risks that really matter in your workplace – the ones with the potential to cause real harm. In many instances, straightforward measures can readily control risks, for example ensuring spillages are cleaned up promptly so people do not slip, or cupboard drawers are kept closed to ensure people do not trip. Risk assessments are important as they reduce the risks of accidents and ill health to you and your employees that could be very costly both physically and financially. Explain the steps to carry out a risk assessment. Identify the hazards. Consider how people may be injured in the workplace. Be pro-active and examine the potential hazards, whether they are short or long-term. Also ask for the views of employees and their representatives, and read the accident book and the sick records for anything related to a work-based danger.  Establish who might be harmed and how. Before managing a risk, discover the affected groups, and determine the ways in which they might suffer injury. For example, the company’s data input team might have problems with eye strain from staring at computer monitors all day. Evaluate the risks; decide on precautions. At this stage, it is acceptable to work to a standard that is â€Å"reasonably practicable†. To make the task easier, however, find out what the industry regards as good practice. By comparing a workplace to good practice benchmarks, it becomes easier to match precautions to risks Record and implement findings. Write down the results of risk assessments and communicate these to staff. Employees are then more likely to understand and support any necessary changes. Review the assessment and update if necessary. Ideally, review risk assessments annually. Also consider revising an assessment whenever there is a significant change to any potentially hazardous procedures. Write a risk assessment for the use of a hot food trolley when it is brought out of the kitchen to the dining area before meals.  How to reduce risks using the guide of 5 steps? (pretty much answered in the previous question! Explain how to address potential health and safety risks that you have identified in your workplace (include records). 2.1 Explain why it is important to assess health and safety risks A. Reasons may include:  · to comply with legislation  · to prevent risks or reduce risks to a minimum  · to protect self, individuals and others from danger, harm or illness 2.2 Explain the steps to carrying out a risk assessment A; Steps to carrying out a risk assessment include:  · identify hazards  · evaluate risks · take precautions  · review risks  · report and record outcomes 2.3 Explain how to address potential health and safety risks identified A; Addressing potential risks may include:  · identifying associated hazards  · considering what safety measures are required to eliminate or reduce the risks  · considering whether new or additional safety measures can be put in place  · communicating these measures to others  · informing others of any serious risks  · co-operating fully with outside agencies 2.4 Explain how risk assessment can help address dilemmas between an individual’s rights and health and safety concerns A; Risk assessment can help address dilemmas by e.g:  · making the individual aware of the risks  · making the individual aware of the responsibilities employees and the employer have  · being used as the basis for safe working arrangements Q. 2.4 joe wants to smoke in his bedroom in the care home 2.5 Explain how to promote health and safety within the social care setting A; Promoting health and safety by e.g:  · taking reasonable care for own and others’ health and safety  · reporting and recording potential and actual hazards and risks  · participating in health and safety training  · complying with health and safety instructions and procedures 3.1 Describe the common types of accidents and sudden illnesses which may occur in your workplace. Accidents may include:  · falls  · burns and scalds  · slips and trips  · swallowing a hazardous substance 3.2 Explain procedures to be followed if an accident or sudden illness should occur Procedures to be followed may include:  · recording and reporting of accident or illness with full details must be made  · registered person must submit notification to CQC and HSE  · individuals’ next of kin must be informed 3.2 first aid etc Report the accident or sudden illness to the line manager. Record in log book and give full details in an accident/incident form to be submitted to branch manager. 3.3 Explain why it is important for emergency first aid tasks only to be carried out by qualified first aiders Reasons may include:  · to comply with health and safety legislation  · to preserve life  · to minimise the consequences of injury and illness  · to treat injuries and illnesses effectively 3.4 Explain the consequences of failing to follow emergency first aid procedures Consequences may include:  · possible fatalities  · could delay recovery  · injury or illness could  · become worse  · failure to comply with legislation and workplace procedures 4;1 infection control section These are the routes of transmission for diseases: – the air – Down the respiratory tract into the lungs. Coughs, cold, influenza and other common airborne infections are contracted in this fashion. – urine and feces Up the urinary and reproductive systems. The infectious agent may remain localized or may enter the blood stream. Sexually transmitted diseases most commonly infect the genitals. HIV, the AIDS virus, is carried in bodily fluids and can be transmitted in saliva, seminal fluid, or blood. – blood – saliva – Down the digestive tract. Food, drink or other infected products can be swallowed and infect the stomach or bowels. Most people have experienced an ‘upset stomach’, which reveals itself in the form of diarrhea and or vomiting. – skin – Breaks in the skin. One of the many functions of the skin is to act as a barrier against infection. Anything that penetrates the skin, or for that matter the mucous membrane that lines the mouth or nose, provides a route for infection to enter. Typically, bites, scratches, puncture wounds by needles etc increase the risk of infection. – drainage, such as nasal mucus or pus from open sores Person-to-person A cold can be caught by shaking the hand of a person who has a cold and who has just used their hand to wipe their dripping nose. The mucus from the nose will be teeming with cold virus particles such as the rhinovirus, which causes one third of colds in adults. Once the cold virus particles are on the hands of the second person they are contaminated and the virus can be transferred into their nose by their fingers. Contaminated blood or other bodily fluids Hepatitis B and HIV can be spread through sexual intercourse or sharing used syringe needles contaminated with infected blood. Saliva A cold or the flu can be caught from the saliva of an infected person when you kiss them. Air Measles, mumps and tuberculosis can be spread by coughing or sneezing. A cough or a sneeze can release millions of microbes into the air in droplets of mucus or saliva which can then infect somebody else if they breathe in the infected particles. Food Microbes need nutrients for growth and they like to consume the same foods as humans. They can get into our food at any point along the food chain from ‘plough to plate’. Therefore great care must be taken at every stage of food production to ensure that harmful microbes are not allowed to survive and multiply. If they do they can cause the unpleasant symptoms of food poisoning such as sickness and diarrhoea, when the contaminated food is eaten. Microbes can be spread from one food to another during the preparation process, for example by unclean hands, or dirty kitchen utensils, and cause illness when those foods are eaten. This is known as cross-contamination. Water Some diseases are caused by drinking water that is contaminated by human or animal faeces, which may contain disease-causing microbes. Clean water, hygiene and good sewerage systems prevent the spread of water-borne diseases such as typhoid and cholera. Insects Insects are responsible for spreading many diseases. Malaria is spread from person to person by certain species of female mosquito carrying the protozoan Plasmodium falciparum. The parasite enters the human host when an infected mosquito takes a blood meal. Bubonic plague (Black Death) is a bacterial disease of rodents caused byYersinia pestis. It can be spread to humans and other animals by infected rat fleas. People usually get plague from being bitten by a rodent flea that is carrying the plague bacterium. Insects can also transmit pathogens to food; house flies are very good at spreading Salmonella and E.coli O157. They feed on faecal waste and transfer microbes from their feet and other body parts to food. The microbe does not invade or multiply inside the fly. Fomites This is a non-living object such as bedding, towels, toys and barbed wire that can carry disease-causing organisms. The fungus Trichophyton that causes athlete’s foot can be spread indirectly through towels and changing room floors. The fungus thrives in the damp warm environment found between the toes. The skin between the fourth and fifth toe is usually affected first. A flaky itchy red rash develops. The skin becomes cracked and sore and small blisters may appear. If the infection is left untreated it can  spread to other parts of the body. Entry of infection into human body A human with an infection has another organism inside them which gets its sustenance (nourishment) from that person, it colonizes that person and reproduces inside them. Organisms may enter the body in one of three ways. The digestive tract – swallowed in food or water. The respiratory tract – breathed in the air. The skin and mucus membranes – through a wound, weakened surface or injection. Explain the following prevention methods†¦ A) Hand washing†¦B) Own personal hygiene†¦C) Encouraging the individual’s personal hygiene Types of PPE Used in Healthcare Settings †¢ Gloves – protect hands †¢ Gowns/aprons – protect skin and/or clothing †¢ Masks and respirators– protect mouth/nose – Respirators – protect respiratory tract from airborne infectious agents †¢ Goggles – protect eyes †¢ Face shields – protect face, mouth, nose, and eyes Explain own role in supporting others to follow practise that reduce the spread of infection. It is my responsibility, together with my colleagues to protect ourselves from the risk of infection according to the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. Everyday practice would include being aware of and implementing policies & procedures, reporting hazards & potential risks, maintaining clean & safe working environments, attending training updates, keep up to date with necessary immunisation and maintain our own personal hygiene. As someone who has direct, day-to-day contact with patients, carers, relatives and other staff, you have a crucial part to play in infection control in your workplace. Identifying when a patient is at risk of acquiring an infection and knowing how to prevent it are key roles for you. To do this effectively, you need to have the necessary knowledge and skills concerning infection control and prevention and the competence to implement them in practice. Describe the main points of the legislation which relates to moving and handling. Main points may include:  · avoiding hazardous manual handling  · conducting a full risk assessment of load, task, environment and individual Manual Handling Operations Regulations (MHOR), 1992  · reporting immediately any difficulties The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR)  · adhering to agreed working practices Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999  · using equipment correctly Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) 1998 Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) 1998 The employer’s duties:  ·Avoid the need for hazardous manual handling as far as is reasonably practicable.  ·Assess the risk of injury from any hazardous manual handling that can’t be avoided.  ·Reduce the risk of injury from hazardous manual handling, as far as reasonably practicable The Employee’s duties:  ·Follow appropriate systems of work laid down for their safety.  ·Make proper use of equipment provided to minimise the risk of injury.  ·Co-operate with the employer on health and safety matters. If a care assistant fails to use a hoist that has been provided, they are putting themselves at risk of injury. The employer is unlikely to be liable.  ·Apply the duties of employers, as appropriate, to their own manual handling activities.  ·Taking care to ensure that their activities do not put others at risk. Explain how following principles for safe moving and handling protects those in the social care setting from injury or harm. Protection may include:  · reducing the risk of injury  · identifying whether there is a hazard or risk  · giving an opportunity for alternative working practices e.g. use of a different type of moving and handling aid Explain situations that may require additional supports necessary for moving and handling. Situations may include:  · if working environment is cramped  · if an object or load is heavy  · if an object or load is unstable or awkward