Healthcare Safety and Social Determinants

This assignment delves into the crucial relationship between social determinants and healthcare safety. It examines how factors like socioeconomic conditions and access to resources influence patient safety within healthcare settings. A key focus is on COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) regulations, exploring their implementation for safe chemical and medication handling. Additionally, the assignment addresses ethical considerations surrounding healthcare safety, emphasizing the importance of informed consent and equitable access to quality care.

Health, safety and
security in health and
social care

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P 1 Expected hazards and harms that emerges in a HSC............................................................1
P 2 Legislation, policies and procedures relating to health and safety.......................................2
P 3 Risk assessment in a health or social care setting.................................................................2
P 4 Possible priorities and responses when dealing with two particular incidents.....................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Health, safety and security are three important terms that needs to considered in a health
and social care. Each and every people wants certain security for their lives and this is the duty
of government to take care of all the workers who are working in a organisation. For this, they
have imposed some laws regarding maintaining health and safety (Carayon, 2016). The present
report is explaining the possible hazards in an enterprise so that precaution can be maintained.
This also describes policies and legislations that is used for promoting health and safety.
TASK 1
P 1 Expected hazards and harms that emerges in a HSC
Several types of hazards are present in a health and social care settings. Some of them are
listed below :
 Physical environment : Environmental hazards are the things that are present within
surroundings which can cause harm to employees and customers. Such hazards include
pollution, temperature of rooms, objects and many others.
 Equipments : It is essential in a heath centre that all equipments are used properly and
safely so that clients as well as workers remains safe. Hazards from equipment involves
things like poor maintenance, tidy work place, unsafe practise, etc. For example,
overloaded plug sockets can cause risks for people.
 Infections : There are several types of infections present in a care setting. For instant,
continuous use of single injections can create various risks for the employees and service
users as some the patients may be suffering from HIV, Hepatitis B or C (Keleher, and
MacDougall,2015).
 Working conditions : Long working hours can put any body in danger as they losses the
capacity to work more.
 Working practices : Working practices like manual handling training, preparation of
food, working with challenging behaviours, etc. can put staff as well as customers in
danger. For example, if food is not prepared by maintaining safety can create risks after
the consumption of such food.
 Substance : There are different kinds of substances that are used in a care home and
some of them are proved to be very hazardous to patients and employees if they used
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them in wrong way (Cooper and Quick, 2017). Foe example, misuse of bleach can lead to
severe accident like its drinking can burns to the throat and badly affect stomach.
P 2 Legislation, policies and procedures relating to health and safety
Several norms and legislation are imposed by government in order to maintain safety
which are described below :
Legislations Description
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health
Regulations
(COSHH)
This law was made for the protection of both
patients as well as workers. As per this
hazardous substances should be controlled
safely so that it may not cause any kind of
danger (Townsend, and Morgan,2017). For
example, substances like bleach are used in
hospitals and its misuse can cause severe risks
for individual. So, it has be placed as well as
handled properly. Medicines should be stored
properly.
Food Safety
Act
This act states that good of food have to be
provided to consumers. It is a legal obligation
to treat food intended for human ingestion in a
controlled way. For instant, Meals or snacks
should prepared in proper way for children.
P 3 Risk assessment in a health or social care setting
Task Hazards
determin
ed
People
affected
L* C* Risk
rating
Control
measures
Residual
risk
Further
action
/Monitori
ng
priority
Using Risk of Small 4 3 12 Using 3 * 4 = Throwin
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same
injection
infection,
Instant
reaction,
Risk of
causing
dangerou
s
diseases
like HIV,
Hepatitis
children
Adults
5 4 20
new
needle or
injection
for
injecting
each
person.
M
5 * 4 = H
g used
injection
s in
dustbins
instantly,
Prohibit
the use
of single
injection
From the above table, there is a risk of infection is explained which occurs due to usage
of single injection to various care takers. The whole scenario is explained in the table.
P 4 Possible priorities and responses when dealing with two particular incidents
Abuse is considered as an incident that causes harm to an individual or breaches their
rights or dignity. The two specific incident are following:
 Suspected abuse in children : Sexual abuse is found in the case of children who are
under 16 years old. Some people in the care home forcefully do some disrespectful
activities with girl or boy child (World Health Organization, 2014). This is now become
very common and cause a serious threat for them. So, government out to control such
abuses by imposing strict laws against this. Some of steps taken for approaching abuse
are listed below :
◦ Remain quiet and gather information by asking from child.
◦ Searching a appropriate area to talk
◦ Assure them that this will not happen again and action will be taken
 Emergency like accidents : People in a heath centre may suffer from serious accidents
like slipping from stairs, third degree burn due to fire, etc. Irrespective of the procedures
taken for keeping some one safe, accidents occur frequently. The reaction can be vast
influence on the consequence during the scenario. Some of the steps dealing with those
accidents are mentioned below :
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◦ Checking of surrounding for risk of moving vehicles, fire, chemicals, etc. No one
should enter in that area.
◦ The second priority is to identify the severity of casualties' injury or more than one
casualty, find out which requires instant aid. On the basis of this approach and assess
the situation (Porter, 2010).
◦ Proper first aid should be given as improper can worst the condition.
CONCLUSION
From the above based report, it can be concluded that health and safety is required to
maintained in a care setting so that risks and hazards can be removed from there. In order to
maintain this, various legislation is imposed by legal authorities such as COSHH, Food safety
act, etc. COSHH is imposed for the organisation or storage of chemicals, medicines, etc. so that
no one can use it without taking permission from doctor.
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REFERENCES
Books & journal
Porter, M.E., 2010. What is value in health care?. New England Journal of Medicine, 363(26),
pp.2477-2481.
World Health Organization, 2014. Social determinants of mental health. World Health
Organization.
Townsend, M.C. and Morgan, K.I., 2017. Psychiatric mental health nursing: Concepts of care in
evidence-based practice. FA Davis.
Keleher, H. and MacDougall, C., 2015. Understanding health (No. Ed. 4). Oxford University
Press.
Carayon, P. ed., 2016. Handbook of human factors and ergonomics in health care and patient
safety. CRC Press.
Cooper, C.L. and Quick, J.C. eds., 2017. The Handbook of Stress and Health: A Guide to
Research and Practice. John Wiley & Sons.
Bennett, P. ed., 2010. Risk communication and public health. Oxford University Press.
Grant, A.M. and Hofmann, D.A., 2011. It’s not all about me: motivating hand hygiene among
health care professionals by focusing on patients. Psychological science, 22(12),
pp.1494-1499.
Sandall, J. and et.al., 2010. Improving Quality and Safety in Maternity Care: The Contribution of
Midwife‐Led Care. Journal of midwifery & women’s health, 55(3), pp.255-261.
Braveman, P., Egerter, S. and Williams, D.R., 2011. The social determinants of health: coming
of age. Annual review of public health, 32, pp.381-398.
Clougherty, J.E., Souza, K. and Cullen, M.R., 2010. Work and its role in shaping the social
gradient in health. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1186(1), pp.102-124.
Vogus, T.J., Sutcliffe, K.M. and Weick, K.E., 2010. Doing no harm: enabling, enacting, and
elaborating a culture of safety in health care. The Academy of Management
Perspectives, 24(4), pp.60-77.
Steele, D. and Cylus, J., 2012. United Kingdom (Scotland): health system review. Health systems
in transition, 14(9), pp.1-150.
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