Unit 3 Health and Safety legislations in HSC Assignment

Introduction

The main aim of Unit 3 Health and Safety legislations in HSC Assignment is to provide for overall well being of the people in the society and provide them with necessary support and care. Organizations like WHO and others are getting more and keen towards the improvement in the health of the people around the world through formulation and implementation of appropriate policies and procedures in the health care organizations. Also such organizations are functioning towards the promotion of health and safety of the people working in delivery of care to individuals. Thus the health and safety legislations in HSC assignment study basically aims to discuss the legislations that have impact on promoting health and safety at workplace in health and social care organizations and thus helps in developing an understanding of the policies and practices at workplace and their role in promotion of health and safe working culture. Through discussing the case of care worker, the study develops a practical approach to implementation and review of policies and practices in the field.

Lo1 Implementation Of  Health And Safety Legislation In Workplace

Review policies, procedures and systems for communication of information in accordance with legislations

Communication of relevant information is an important procedure in the care service providing organizations. The policies, systems and procedures in any care organization are important in proper communication of information as per the legal framework. As according to the Health And Safety Act Work act 1974 (HASAW) the care organization must document the policies applicable and covey them to the employees in order to allow working as per legislations. Also the Care standards Act 2000 helps in development of standards in care delivery thus helping in reduction of incidents and insurance premiums (Grol et al, 2008). However the review of policies and procedures in the care organization can be done under following functions:

• Care planning and needs assessment: helps in keeping the patient at centre of planning the care delivery as per identification of their needs thus providing for safety of employees and promoting good practice. This provides a scope for review of the policies and procedures in the care delivery systems.
• Risk benefit analysis: is an important criterion of the care organization and thus the risks involved in the care delivery, stakeholders in the process and their priorities and commitment of resources all must be taken in to account by an organization (Thomas et al, 2012).
• Health and safety management: is done in the care workplace through audits and inspections procedure thus allowing for any changes in the policies implemented.
• Monitoring and reviewing: is thus based on monitoring of the working of the policies and systems in the organization and developing an experience through changing of policies and procedures to allow for betterment of employees, service users and all stakeholders as per legislations in the country.

Responsibilities in specific health and social care workplace for managing health and safety in relation to organizational structures

For maintaining of health and safety at care workplace, the various responsibilities are bestowed on the care organizations and in fact all the stakeholders including

• Communication with service users: should be proper and they must be informed about their problems and the treatment that can best suit them in the current situation and the desired outcomes thus building their confidence and trust in the system.
• Competencies of practitioners: must be ensured as the risks involved are as high as the life of the patients in the care delivery systems. Thus the professional must be well oriented and learned aiming for betterment and safety of the users (Davis et al, 2009).
• Care quality: must be an important concern and thus the focus must be on minimizing the wastage of resource, reducing chances of mishaps, better provisions to patients, etc.
• Professional attitude of employees: must be ensured in the care organization by monitoring of the respect and dedication of the employees towards their duties in the system and their attitude towards self regulatory practices in organization.
• Ethical code: must be well defined and documented in the care organization and it must involve the Duty of Care in it as is found lacking in may care organizations by WHO. This will help in promoting better health and safety in the workplace.

1.3 health and safety priorities appropriate for workplace

The care organizations must ensure health and safety of its employees and provide appropriate training to the employees of the issues that can bear an impact on their health and safety.

Thus the various priorities for the care organizations can be discussed as under:

• Cleanliness: should be a key priority of the care workplace as helps in prevention of any epidemic and diseases in the employees owing to unclean surroundings.
• Fire safety: involves the maintenance and installation of fire extinguishing systems in the workplace in order to ensure safety of care workers.
• Waste disposal system: must be properly installed in the care organization in order to ensure the well being of the employees at workplace and thus there should be proper drainage, sewerage and dustbins installed and maintained.
• Emergency management system: must be functional in the care organization and any urgency arriving in case of any patient must be handled by  developing manager  through constantly keeping a check on the working of the employees in delivering care to a patient (Thomas et al, 2012).

In the case of Mr. Watson who had prolonged mental illness, the health and safety priorities for the care assistant Mrs. Kiran includes:

• Training and competencies to deal with any emergencies arising in case of mental behavior and their psychic attitudes
• Providing for safety of care assistant Mrs. Kiran from the dog and eccentricity of the patient as life of the care assistant is at risk
• dealing with unclean and untidy surroundings of the house which may impact the health of the patient as well as care assistant by causing epidemics and diseases

Lo 2 Impact Of Health an Safety Requirement On Customers And Work Of Practitioners

2.1 information for risk assessment impacts the care planning and organizational decision making about policies and procedures

The risks involved in the care delivery systems are individual based in particular care delivery system and are based n patient age, level of illness, habits, vulnerability, mental health, etc. Thus the risk assessment has a deep impact on the organization decision making about the policies and procedures in care delivery systems (Earle et al, 2008). This helps in management and reduction of the risks to the users themselves, employees or care workers and the society by planning of proper of patient needs along with promoting health and well being of the care workers.

Thus based on the information gathered about a particular individual the organization must plan the care delivery in order to:

• Promote the satisfaction among the patients through their involvement in planning and delivery of the care in order to allow best need fulfillment
• Promoting security of all the stakeholders through proper installing of the systems that may be needed in case of risks arising in the delivery process.
• This also helps the employees to be equipped in dealing with risks to their well being and safety as in case of vulnerable individuals.
• Promotion of the good practice in health and social care systems
• Providing for overall well being of people in the care delivery systems and thus reducing the chances of accidents in the process

Thus based on the information the organization may decide to increase the level of care and security in case of individuals with high risks owing to vulnerability, severity of illness, etc.

Name of organization- abc care organization:

HAZARDS	HARM TO WHOM	PRACTICES REQUIRED AT PRESENT	RISK EVALUATION	ACTION PLAN	CONTROLLING
Unclean environment Dog Mental illness of patient	Patient Mr. Watson Care assistant Mrs. Kiran visitors	Maintenance of the cleanliness of house and the garden Appointing of Psychic expert or doctor for the patient to manage the mental health Providing for the safety from the dog	High risk due to unclean environment High risk from dog biting High risk from eccentric nature of patient	Involves psychatrist, care staff and personal assistant	Inspecting cleanliness, health of patient and behavior with care assistant and visitors

2.2 one aspect of health and safety policy on practice and the customers

In the health and safety policy, the risk assessment in the leading aspect that bears profound impact on the clients as well as the organization. The risk assessment deals with the information related to risk involved in delivery of care to a patient as may be based on their age, level of illness, vulnerable situation, etc. This information helps to manage and reduce the harm or chances of harm to the service users, people in the society and also the care delivery staff along with the resources and equipments used in the process of care delivery (Lowell, 2008).

This helps in creation of safe working environment for the employees involved in the process through installation of proper safety and support systems that may be needed at any point of time while delivery of care. Thus it helps the organization to make arrangements for dealing with contingency situation that may arise at any point in future along with allowance of planning of the proper strategies. Also this gives an exact picture of the position of the patient and thus they may plan their procedures and policies accordingly. In case of vulnerable of mentally impaired patients the constant watch over the activities and conditions of the patient help the proper decision making to promote safety and provide better services.

For the customers, it deals with the involving of patients in risk assessment and care planning process, the patients feel confident and motivated towards the care systems. Also it helps in improvement of the care quality to the patients ensuring their well being and good health through  decision making  provisions of back up plans and systems while delivery of care. Also, as per needs of the patient the care period may be extended to provide better services to their needs or illnesses. As in case of Mrs. Kiran the risks involved are high as the patient Mr. Watson who is pretty old and has impaired mental capacity and psychiatric illness thus risk assessment helps the care assistant by providing for their safety and patient by providing appropriate care services and making extended services due to prolonged illness.

2.3 dilemmas encountered in relation to implementation of systems and policies for health, safety and security

In the process of implementation of the health and safety systems and policies the various dilemmas are encountered in practice in care organizations and individuals as follows:

• Use of technology: involves sufficient taxes and financial obligations for the health and social care organization along with impact on the health of the employees by use of computerized systems thus the organizations faces dilemma situation as use of modern technology like ICT software in field helps in improvement of the care services.
• Third party involvement: in the delivery of care services is often and even though the organizations have safety policies in the workplace but due to lack of policies and systems in the supply chain, the incidents may increase and thus the quality is impacted.
• Negligence on part of stakeholders: as in certain cases the successful implementation of the policies and systems needs participation of all the stakeholders and due to their negligence the policy implementing becomes a problem for the organization.
• Quality improvement: the organization must be committed to improvement in the services offered to the users but inspectors and outside agencies may provide low quality of equipments due to corruption and bribery practices (Helly, 2011).

As in case of Mania patient Mr. Halley, the dilemma is that the patient is unaware of the road safety and loves his independence which must be respected by the care assistant and thus loves to walk down to nearby shop to buy his favorite newspapers. Thus now the nurse must decide as whether or not to allow the patient to go out as he is prone to road mishaps.

2.4 effect of non complaince with health and safety legislations at workplace

In UK, the government had formulated certain legislation that impacts the working and operations of the care organization and they must abide by these rules and policies.

• Health and safety at work act, 1974: ensures the health and safety of the employees working in the care organizations at UK and non compliance with such policies and the laws must impact the working of the entire organization due to low commitment and heaths of the employees. Also this will lead to an image of being non-concerned towards the needs of the employees and this will impact the capability to attract suitable candidates in future (Kribell et al, 2011).
• Mental health act 1983: defines the mentally impaired people and thus all the organizations like metal hospitals must be well able to treat the mental disorders as in law otherwise they cannot be operational in the country.
• Public health act 1936: stats the competencies of those working in the field like physicians and the noncompliance  implies that the physician can be punished or charged penalties to the patients for providing false treatment or non maintenance of the professional conduct.
• Care standards act 2000: implies the standards in the care delivery process and non compliance will dampen the survival of the organization at UK.

Lo 3 Monitoring and Review of Health and Safety at Workplace

3.1 health and safety policies and practices are monitored and reviewed

The monitoring and reviewing of the health and safety policies in any organization working in health and social care may be required for its own improvements and for compliance  information and knowledge  by any inspecting authority at UK. Thus the quality of services, management of risk and implementation of the policies and systems are a continuing concern for the care organizations. Thus the methods used in the organization can be detailed as follows:

Quantification of health and safety practices: the organization must involve in the appraisal of its own performance and identify the areas of threats and scope for improvements through measuring own performance (Pamella et al, 2009).

Also it includes the responsiveness of the organizations by working on areas like:

• Accidents and mishaps decrease
• Reduction in damages to property and resources
• Reporting of hazards and damages as in RIDORR
• Appropriate complaints handling function
•  feedback mechanism
• Risk management

Proactivness: on part of the organization implies that the organization measures the performance of specific goals and targets, maintenance of the workplace environment, ensuring the standards in the services, operations of management systems dedicated to health and safety and observing the attitudes and commitment of the employees and taking appropriate actions.

Inspections and audits: helps in actually identifying as how much the health and safety policies are being implemented through inspection of first aid services available, cleanliness, fire safety systems, equipments used, etc (Stranks, 2005).

3.2 Effectiveness of Health And Safety Policies In Promotion Of Positive And Healthy Work Culture

Through the implementation of the health and safety policies in the workplace the employer of the care organization aims to promote a safe and healthy work culture for its employees or care providers.

Thus the effectiveness of the policies in promoting a safe work culture in the field can be justified as follows:

• Structure and responsibilities: are well defined in the care organizations in order to promote a safe and positive work culture by describing the responsibilities of managers, care workers and others in the organization. This helps in reducing clashes among employees and with the management by providing more clarity in working and practice (Brotherton et al, 2008).
• Appropriate procedures: are illustrated by the health and safety policies as being applicable to reporting of incidents or hazards to workers as per RIDORR, making usage of the equipments in the organization, etc which also help in promoting safe and healthy work culture.
• Risk assessment: is an important concern in the health and safety policies and this helps in provision of the patient information and making effective service plan for them while for the organization it helps in better development and reviewing of policies and making arrangements to meet contingency situations arising in the organization.
• Fire safety and training: are an important part of health and safety policies in the care organization and thus by providing training to the employees and making arrangements like fire extinguishers system in the organization workplace help in promoting safe working environment and culture (Cooper et al, 2011).

3.3 evaluate contribution in placement of health and safety needs of individual at centre

Each and every person working in the health and social care services must place the patient at the centre of the care planning and delivery process. In the case of Mr. Halley who was a mania patient, my contribution would be to interact with the individual to understand and access his needs. I must arrange for housekeeping facilities in order to ensure cleanliness at the surroundings and appoint Psychatrist to ensure the mental well being of the patient. As the patient expresses that he loves to go out in the morning to buy his favorite newspapers but is unaware of the road safety regulations thus my contribution would be to either assist or train the individual in this direction. Thus in planning for the care services for the patient, I must assess the risks and hazards involved in allowing him to the local newspaper shop every morning. This will help in identification and best satisfaction of the patient care needs and thus minimizing the risks involved to making arrangements.

Conclusion

As the health and social care services are committed to the well being of the people in the society thus there are certain laws and legislations formulated by the government which the care organizations must follow. The care organizations must formulate appropriate policies and procedures that can be implemented in the organizational systems. Also it must provide for the well being of the  employee relationship  through making provisions for fire safety, diseases or injuries related to workplace, cleanliness, etc. Through risk assessment the care organizations allow for planning of care plans in order to yield the confidence of the service users through involvement and at the same time make provisions for the health and safety of the employee by making arrangements for any contingencies arising during course of work.

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References

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Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, ss.33(1)(c), 33(3) (2016)  (online) available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_and_Safety_at_Work_etc._Act_1974 last accessed on 25 July, 2016
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