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How legislation, policies and procedures influence and promote the safety of individuals in health and social care settings. In this assignment I will be outlining how legislation, policies and procedures relate to health, safety and security and how they influence different health and social care settings. I am also going to analyse the consequences of breaking the law or disobeying policies by including examples of a variety of appropriate policies and procedures for a working practise within the health and social care environment. How does law become law? Laws are rules that must be obeyed by every UK citizen.
In a democracy like the UK nobody is above the law and everybody must abide by them or face the consequences of punishment; possibly imprisonment. A proposed new law is called a bill. Bills have to be agreed by both houses; The House of Lords and The Houses of Parliament. They also have to then receive the Royal Assent from the Queen before they can become acts of Parliament which then make I-JK official law. The bill is introduced by a First Reading. This is an official notice that a Bill is going to be planned and discussed by MPS. Afterwards is the Second Reading. At this stage the philosophies are considered on the floor of the House.
The Bill is then sent to be looked at by a small collection of MPs who examine and analyse the bill in critical detail. Then at the third reading the bill is deliberated and there is a vote. If the Government has a majority the Bill is then passed onto the House of Lords. Once the Bill has successfully passed through both Houses it is then sent to the Queen for the Royal Assent. Once it has Royal Assent the bill becomes an Act of Parliament. The Queen has given the Royal Assent to approximately 3135 Acts of Parliament. Why do we have law? Laws are a type of rule which is put in place to govern behaviour between citizens and keep the peace.
Many organisations use rules to govern behaviour between people. Families have house rules about doing different chores or keeping the house tidy. Schools have rules about completing homework on time and class rules. Rules are inevitable in any part of organised social interaction and rules are particularly important and necessary to be followed in any health and social care setting. Regulations and rules are put in place to be followed for the service user, staff and any individuals visiting the organisations to look after their health, safety and security they are there to protect and promote an individual’s rights also.
Laws are also put into place to protect vulnerable people, such as the Data Protection Act 1998 was put into place to securely protect an individual’s information and for it to be only be seen by the correct professional people such as doctors and the individual him/herself. If a particular person has a mental illness if theyre information is not correctly stored away somebody could misuse that information and it could potentially lead to abuse.
Regulations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 Since the start of the health and safety at work act (generally known as HASAWA) ere first passed extra rules have been added as time has moved on, these regulations include Manual handling operations regulations 1992 Reporting of injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences regulations (RIDDOR) 1995 Control of substances hazardous to health regulations (COSHH) 2002 Food safety act 1990 Food safety (food preparation) regulation 1995 Data protection act 1998 Fire precautions regulations 1997 Food safety (Food preparation) Regulation 1995 Anyone who handles food or whose actions could affect safety must follow these regulations.
The food safety (food preparation) regulation 1995 aims to prevent cases f food poisoning by: Food areas are kept clean and good standards of personal hygiene are maintained Food is cooked thoroughly Foods are kept at the correct temperature Cross contamination is prevented Health and social care settings need to have a kitchen that meets all the necessities of the regulations. In kitchens at care homes for example chopping boards will be colour coded and separate for raw meat and ready to eat foods. The kitchen should be clean with smooth surfaces such as stainless steel without cracks where food can clog up. There should be a separate sink used for food preparation. Hand washing should take places frequently and especially after touching raw meat and after visiting the toilet.
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 Under these regulations all employee’s in health and social care should: Avoid manual handling operations that could involve injury at all times Asses correctly all manual handling operations correctly Take precautions to reduce the chance of injury Encourage people to move by themselves whenever possible Plan every lift efficiently and safely Use lifting aids when possible to avoid any injuries Avoid twisting your body and lifting from the floor Keep the weight close to your body is possible Food Safety Act 1990 The food safety act 1990 gives controls to environmental health inspectors to inspect food and take away food they believe is unfit for human consumption and condemn it. Any establishment breaking food hygiene standards can be forced a notice of improvement and can in certain circumstances be shut down temporarily or permanently depending on the situation. Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995 These regulations demand you to report the following to your local council or a HSE: health and safety executive.
Death or a substantial injury that requires medical attention An event leading to someone being off from work for three or more days Reportable diseases such as MRSA Potentially dangerous occurrences that did not lead to injure or disease Reporting this important information helps the local council or the HSE to find out why, where and how risks occur and to investigate serious incidents and near accidents. They can give advice to organisations on how to reduce risk, being ill and damage to property. If at any time in the future you are working in a senior position and an ncident occurs it is your responsibility to report it. Data Protection Act 1998 The data protection act 1998 relates to personal confidential information, it can be held in paper or on the computer. The information held should be relevant and can be released to certain professionals (doctors/teachers etc. ) on a need to know basis. It has to be attained for lawful reasons and needs to be correct and updated.
Health and safety care settings hold a lot of sensitive confidential information about individuals for example social services, it is very vital that this information is only used for legitimate purposes and not misused. The information either has to be locked away correctly in paper form in a cabinet or on a computer it needs to have a secure password. Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 The management of health and safety at work regulations make clear what employers are required to do to manage the health and safety at work act, they apply to every work movement that happens. Employers with five or more employees must carry out a full risk assessment for the organization no matter how big or small it is.
Employers have to: Make sure that all the health and safety precautions identified by he risk assessment have been carried out correctly Ensure that competent people are appointed to help put health and safety precautions and emergency procedures in place Provide crystal clear information and appropriate correct information for employees Civil Contingencies Act 2004 This act relates to the response of public services in a critical emergency. It gives guidance on anticipation, assessment, prevention, preparation, and response and recovery before during and after a major threat to the general public’s welfare. The act would come into use if the situation were so serious that public services became nable to carry out their function without the power and help of the law supporting them. The law requires emergency services to work together.
In order to do this a plan is already in place, giving framework to use if an emergency arises so that each service knows what its specific role will be. Emergencies could include severe flooding, extreme weather conditions, a terrorist attack, a pandemic (such as swine flu), industrial accidents or environmental pollution. National Minimum Standards National minimum standards were published in 2003 following the care standards act 200. They form the basis for the inspection of care settings, which is done by the CQC. They include information about the standard of care they should be receiving, and part of this relates to health and safety also.
Different versions of national minimum standards exist for each different care setting such as: Care homes for the elderly (65+) Care homes for adults (18-65) Home care Nurses agencies Adult placement schemes practise in health and safety when caring for older people. Many settings exceed these standards of care. The care plan should include an assessment of individual’s ersonal safety and risk. The environments must be safe for individuals to move around appropriately. Staff must receive training in all areas of health and safety. Equipment needs to be regularly checked. Monitory for sources of infection should be carried out too. All staff requires mandatory training on safe work practise.
Control of Substance’s Hazardous to Health (COSHH) COSHH requires employers to: Assess the risks posed by hazardous substances such as body fluids and sharps needles Devise procedures to avoid or control exposure to hazardous substances Ensure correct policies are followed Make sure health observation is carried out if employees are exposed to harmful substances in their work, to identify early signs of disease Prepare plans to deal with accidents, incidents and emergencies Ensure that staff are adequately trained and supervised Care Home Regulations Every care home must have a manager who has a suitable qualification in Leadership and Management Care Services or be currently studying for one.
This individual must guarantee that all parts of the home are free from hazards, and that risks are identified and eradicated and avoid all possible risks. If the manager feels that an mployee is a threat to a service user whether due to lack of skills or causing harm to a service user the manager has the right and must suspend the employee and carry out a full investigation. The manager then has the responsibility to report this to Care Quality Commission as soon as possible of any event in the care home that endangers the well-being or safety of any individual. What’s a policy? A policy is a guiding principle used to set path in any working organization. It can be a development of action to guide and influence individuals decisions.
Every organisation has their own unique policy to fit the type of organization. An employee policy is what you put inside a staff training pack. In health and social care these can include basic guidelines such as how to spot abuse to what is appropriate to wear. It is the organizations code of conduct. What’s a procedure? A procedure is a specific way of completing something. It should be designed as a series of steps to be followed as a consistent and repetitive approach or cycle to accomplish an end result. Once complete you will have a set of established methods for directing your establishment which will be useful in health and social care for training and improvements.
An example ofa policy in H&SC Every employer has to produce their own health and safety policies and procedures to state how they will operate under the law. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states that all organisations must have a health and safety policy. Policies need to be checked frequently to make sure they are keeping staff, visitors and service users safe. A fire emergency evacuation plan (FEEP) is a written document which contains the action to be taken by all staff in the event of fire and the measures for calling the fire brigade. It can include any relevant information in relation to the FEEP. General Fire Notice For small premises this could take the form of a simple fire action sign with its contents.
Staff Fire Notice High fire risks or large premises will need more detailed emergency evacuation plan which takes account of the findings of the risk assessment, e. g. the staff significantly at risk and their location. In addition notices giving clear and concise instructions of the routine to be followed in case of fire should be prominently displayed. Many different settings in health and social care differ in their policies. For example of FEEP I am going to use Vale House as a care ome where a fire breaks out. The home is small and has ten residents; they all have some form of disability ranging from visual impairments, dementia, hearing impairments and also being physically disabled.
The policy for Vale House is as follows: On noticing a fire raise the alarm by breaking the glass in the nearest and safest fire point to you Departure the building by the closest fire escape Assemble at Fire Assembly point B If you have a physical disability please wait at the top of the stairs by the fire alarm to be safely escorted out of the building, do not attempt to use stair lift/lift Do not try nd take personal items out with you, your safety is the main issue These types of policies are put in place to ensure the safety, security and health is remained intact for all service users, visitors and staff at the establishment. What is a 4 stage mandatory plan? A 4 stage mandatory plan is an essential plan that has to be done when caring for an individual. It has four stages, care planning, personal details, a risk assessment and a review which I am going to analyze in further detail. Care Planning A care plan or often called a care needs assessment is a plan of the service user’s needs.
The staff member would talk to various individuals and professionals such as family, friends, a partner, social worker, doctors, GP, occupational therapist, advocate and most importantly the service user themselves and talk to them about how they want to be cared for. Some individuals may have lived in the same house with their partner for the majority of their lives and find the process of now living in a home frightening and strange and would want their routine the same as it was at home. The service user can get any concerns or worries across in the care planning stage. Personal Details It is very important to put the service user’s information in their care plan correctly. Information such as their D. OB likes and dislikes wants and needs, wishes and beliefs all go in their care plan.
For example if a new career started looking after a service user they could look up their care plan and it could act as a 24 hour guide of how to look after them the way they are happy and used to. These details can also be changed if the service user wishes. Risk Assessment A risk assessment is basically a careful examination of what in your institution could cause harm to individuals so that you can consider whether you have taken enough rovisions or should do more to prevent harm from occurring. The law does not expect you to eliminate all risk as this would be impossible but you are required especially in health and social care to protect individuals as far as is reasonably practicable.
Review of Care Plan A care plan needs to be updated by law at least every 3 months to see if the individuals needs need to changed or Just to revisit the care plan, for example if a service user may also have a sudden dislike and want to put that in their care plan which is entirely their choice, it’s there for the individual. What happens if an individual/company break the law? Individual If an individual person breaks the law you go to prison depending on what law was broken or how serious the offense was. Usually you go to a court and the Judge will give you bail, community service or sentence you to a number of years in prison depending on the crime committed.
Company The same procedure occurs for a company in health and social care, however it is slightly different when policies and procedures and involved. When an individual has broken the law and has been fully mandatory trained by the company, and been told ll the policies and procedures of the company then it is not the companies fault but the individuals who has broken the law, on the other hand if the company has not provided adequate training or explanation of policies and procedures then the blame lies with the company and they can potentially be temporarily closed or shut down. References Safety Advice Centre, Fire Emergency Evacuation Plan or Fire Procedure, http:// www. firesafe. org. k/fire-emergency-evacuation-plan-or-fire-procedure/ Date & Author – Unknown Project Britain, British Life & Culture, http://www. woodlands- junior. kent. sch. k/customs/questions/government/laws. htm, Author – Mandy Barrow, Date – Unknown UK Law Online, Laws & The Legal System, http://www. leeds. ac. uk/ law/hamlyn/legsys. htm, Date & Author – Unknown bizmanualz, Policies, Procedures & Processes, http://www. bizmanualz. com/blog/whats-the-difference-between-policies- and-procedures. htm, Author – Chris Anderson, Date – 26th April 2005 Royal Assent, http://www. parliament. uk/about/how/laws/passage-bill/lords/lrds-royal-assent/ HSE, Health and Safety Executive, Five steps to risk assessment, http://www. hse. gov. uk/ risk/fivesteps. htm, Date & Author – Unknown