Assessment of Risk Management Strategies in a UK Residential Care Home

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Health and Safety in the Health and Social Care Workplace
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Task 1:........................................................................................................................................4
Task 2:........................................................................................................................................7
Task 3:......................................................................................................................................11
Conclusion................................................................................................................................14
Reference list............................................................................................................................15
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Introduction
The care homes need to fulfil safety needs of their care users at the time of offering care to
them. Every care provider has to analyse individual medication requirements of the
individuals while they are preparing the care plan. This study will focus on procedures and
policies implemented by the director of “Fleetwood Hall Home”. The responsibilities of the
care home to manage safety of care seekers will be discussed here along with the role of risk
assessment related information to make organisational decisions. In addition this, the
“impacts of non-compliance with health and safety legislation” will be analysed here. The
way in which health and safety procedures of this care home are reviewed as well as
monitored will also be evaluated in this study. The effectiveness of the organisational polices
related to health care home will be discussed here. Besides that, own contribution to manage
care users’ safety needs will be highlighted here.
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Task 1:
1.1
Implementation of effective policies can be essential for the care users to get their required
treatment. Health and social care act 2008 indicates that the managers of care homes are
responsible to monitor whether the needs of the patients are met or not (legislation.gov.uk,
2019). As per the case study it can be seen that the care users along with their family
members of “Fleetwood Hall Home” are not satisfied with the provided care plan. For this
reason, the director needs to ensure that service providers are considering the individual
needs of every care seeker before making the care plan.
On the other hand, “Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences
Regulations 1995, (RIDDOR)” states that an employer should be involved in identifying the
risks factors associated with the care home (hse.gov.uk, 2019). As a result, the number of
accidents in care home can be minimised. From the given case study it can be seen that the
staffs are not getting safeguarding related to training and due to this reason they are unable to
maintain safety of the patients.
Director of Fleetwood would have to take initiative to report the injuries as well as note down
the risk factors such as moving out flooring. After that only the care users can be able to feel
safe while receiving treatment from here.
As commented by Alley et al. (2016), the process of exchanging information can be known
as communication. In case if there is effective communication within the care home then
planning of the treatment procedure can be done effectively as the practitioners have enough
information regarding their patient. Written, graphical and verbal style of communication can
be taken place in Fleetwood.
According to Osborn et al. (2015), the individuals need to write the message in case of
written communication. The practitioners of Fleetwood can use written communication to
keep record of their care seekers. After that, there can be no delay in providing care as the
staffs would have all the necessary information. Moreover, the complaints of the care users
can be registered in written format so that the effectiveness of this process can be maximised
and management would take actions to resolve the issues (Steinberg et al., 2016).
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On the other hand Davis and Kotowski (2015) argued that, graphical communication can
also be effective in context of the care homes where symbols, signs and DVDs can be used.
As per the given scenario it is known that the employees of Fleetwood are not getting their
required training to enhance their skills. DVDs can be used by the higher authority to give
training to the staffs (Alley et al., 2016). Moreover, care providers can use sign and symbols
to interact with the patients suffering from mental health issues.
Verbal communication can be helpful to express own feeling through speech (Nelson and
Staggers, 2016). In case of, Fleetwood, as the care home is offering services to the care
seekers having dementia hence are providers can adopt this style of communication. This
would be beneficial for the dementia patients to express their service needs in front of the
care providers.
It can be suggested to the director to give freedom to the care providers for selecting any of
the communication method by analysing the current condition of the care users.
1.2
Steinberg et al. (2016) stated that, Responsibilities can be defined as the ability to make
decisions and duty to perform any particular job. The management of Fleetwood has the
responsibility to form policies and procedures by considering requirements of internal staffs
along with care seekers. The care providers have also the responsibility to identify service
users’ need and offer them with proper treatment. Moreover, if all the individuals of the care
home would play their own role appropriately then only the care users would be able to
recover soon.
According to Dzau et al. (2017), the members of Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have
to review the present condition of the care homes. At the time of reviewing, they do not
inform the management of the organisations. In the case study it is seen that inspection has
been done in Fleetwood and after that the management has been instructed to improve the
quality of services otherwise their registration will be cancelled. HSE can be suggested to
share the inspection report with management and tell them about the scope of improvement.
From the point of view of Cooke and Bartram (2015), staffs should be trained by their
Employers. It can be found from the case scenario that the care providers are not getting
appreciation as well as training from the care home. The employer of this care home needs to
evaluate individual requirements of the staffs and make sure that they are receiving training
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sessions related to safeguarding. Employers are advised to take help from the experts while
conducting the training sessions.
The Manager of Fleetwood has to ensure that the care home is obeying all the rules
mentioned in health and social care act 2008. As the safeguarding policies of Fleetwood are
not effective hence its manager needs to be committed to reform the policy system and make
sure that the developed policies are beneficial for the betterment of care users. Besides that,
manager needs to make sure that the safety of female patients and employees are maintained
(Alley et al., 2016). They are recommended to consider the feedbacks of both service users
and employees at the time of reforming the policies.
According to Bibby (2017), Employees of an organisation need to enhance their skills and
perform their responsibilities in an appropriate way. In case of Fleetwood, its employees are
not having with updates skills and knowledge regarding safeguarding that is creating barrier
for the care users to get expected treatment. Due to this reason, the employees of Fleetwood
have to attend training sessions and ensure that they have sufficient knowledge while they are
giving treatment to the patients. They can be advised to inform their management regarding
their training needs so that they can enrich their knowledge.
1.3
Wolff et al. (2016) commented that, the important aspects of planning procedure can be
known as priorities. The care providers of Fleetwood have to consider the priorities of
manual handling and first aid while giving medication to the dementia patients. After this,
care users can be able to improve their situation and get healthy life.
The process of moving objects as well as individuals can be known as manual handling
(Healy, 2016). The internal people of Fleetwood have to receive training for manual handling
to protect the care users from any type of injury. The main advantage of this priority is to
transfer the care users from one place to another place without getting hurt. Moreover, the
care home can save their financial resources due to manual handling. On the other hand, a big
disadvantage is if the size of the hoist and sling are not accurate then it can be the risk factor
for the care users.
According to Gottlieb et al. (2016), first aid is a process of helping an injured person at that
time so that he can feel relief from the pain. The advantage of first aid is the individuals
would be able to get relief from their present condition. This has also a disadvantage as no
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permanent solution is given to the individuals. Moreover, the individuals sometimes refuse to
take the further medication. After getting first aid if they do not take the necessary medication
then in future they can face more difficulties.
Task 2:
2.1
The entire process of identifying and mitigating risk factors is known as risk assessment.
The management of Fleetwood can perform risk assessment to analyse the risk factor
associated with their care home. After that they can arrange required control program for
mitigating the risks and ensure safety of the patients.
Identification of the risk factor is the first step among the five steps of risk assessment where
the managerial staffs need to identify the risks involved in their care home (Garg et al.,
2016). For example, in case of Fleetwood, it has been seen that the women are not feeling
safe in the care home. Moreover, some of the patients prefer to stay at room due to the
unpredictable behaviour of others. After identification the next step is to decide the victim of
the risk factors (Alley et al., 2016). Due to the existing risk factors of Fleetwood, the patients
along with service providers would be at risk.
The next step should be evaluation of the identified risk (Wolff et al., 2016). It is necessary
for the risk assessment team of Fleetwood to evaluate the risk factor and adopt necessary
precautions to avoid the risk factors. For instance, if the women are not feeling comfortable
within the care home then management has to ensure their security and safety. Moreover, the
precautions for the fire safety also need to be taken by them. After evaluation, the findings
need to be recorded by the team. The precautions need to be implemented by the management
and then they have to review the success of the implemented solutions.
As stated by Kingma (2018) it can be said that, a care plan has to be prepared based on the
requirements of the service users so that they can be satisfied with the received care and
medication. In case of Fleetwood, it has to perform the risk assessment accurately and after
that the findings should be stored by the staffs. Every individual of the care home can be
introduced with the collected findings regarding the risk assessment. Then the staffs would be
able to create care plan in a proper way so that the patients do not have to encounter any risk.
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In context of Fleetwood it is seen that policy of safeguarding of adults are not beneficial for
them.
Moreover, the system of monitoring incidents is also ineffective and as a result the risks of
well-being of the care users can be raised. In case of preparing the care plan, care providers
of this care home also need to focus on medicine management as CQC has found that there
are issues involved with medicine management. Cooke and Bartram (2015) stated that, if the
errors of medicine management are there within the care home then the individuals would be
unable to get the required medicines. The users need to take participation in developing the
care plan. As it is seen from the case scenario that the care users are not allowed for sharing
their points of views with the practitioners hence that can lead to improper medication and
treatment. It is necessary for the care givers to understand the importance of allowing their
patients in making treatment plan. For this reason, Fleetwood can conduct training for the
staffs to enhance their knowledge and make sure that the treatment plan is prepared
accurately.
2.2
As per the “Manual handling operations regulations 1992’, the organisations need give
training to the staffs for manual handling so that they can be able to lift or pull the objectives
in a proper way (hse.gov.uk, 2019). The employees need to apply body force to move or
carry objectives or patients who are unable to move by themselves. Dzau et al. (2017) stated
that, if the staffs know how to handle the objectives then they can be able to move the heavy
objectives without using any automotive system. As a result, the employees can be able to
perform these tasks efficiently and management can reduce the cost of adopting automotive
systems.
The employees can also help the service users to move from one place to another by lifting
them. It can be seen that sometimes due to health related issues the care seekers are unable to
move without taking help from anyone. For this reason, it is necessary to provide support to
those care users and after that they would not have this type of problem anymore. After this,
the rate of accidents can be reduced within the care home. Moreover, they would be able to
create a good image among the care receivers that would influence the new care seekers to
come to this care home and receive services.
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On the other hand, Nelson and Staggers (2016) stated that, if the staffs are not trained
properly then risk factors can be raised within the organisation. This can hamper the
reputation of the care home. Furthermore, the care seekers can be injured badly if they are not
lifted properly by the service providers. The staffs of Fleetwood can be injured at the time of
lifting heavy objectives. They can encounter “muscles lateral disorders” and sick leave of
the staffs can be increased because of this reason. In case if the staffs are facing same
difficulty regularly then they would not continue their job and the employee retention rate
will become higher. In addition to this, any injury of the employees at workplace can create
legal issues also for the organisational management. Hence, the organisation can hire external
trainer for this propose so that the staffs can get proper training on this area and they do not
have to encounter much difficulties at the time of manual handling.
2.3
According to Alley et al. (2016), the care providers can encounter dilemma at the time of
giving medication to the care users. From the case scenario it is found that Mrs Y has refused
to use straps. However, the care user has risk to fall down if she would not use straps. For this
reason, the care providers have faced the dilemma to decide whether they should force her to
use the straps or not. It is necessary for them to give priority to the preference of the care
seeker however the well-being of the individual is also the responsibility of the service giver.
For this reason, it can be said that risk assessment on daily basis can help the care providers
to understand how to deal with this type of situations.
Moreover, they need to communicate with the care seeker to analyse their preferences as well
as dislikes. From the view point of Osborn et al. (2015), if proper interaction is there in
between the care users and support worker then it would be easy for the care provider to
make proper decision regarding the medication process of the care receivers. In case of Mrs
Y, if her care providers would communicate with her then effective relationship can be
created. After that medication plan can be created appropriately by them.
2.4
“Non-compliances to the legislations” can create legal problems for the organisations that
can negatively affect their reputation. As stated by Steinberg et al. (2016), if any of the
organisations has breached the legislation related to “health and safety” then the management
has to encounter legal issues. Besides that a certain amount of fine can be charged to them for
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breaching the legislation. Fleetwood would have to give fine if the staffs would not maintain
the safety of their care seekers. At the time of inspection by the HSE if they find that the
organisation is violating the rules of safety legislations then they can cancel registration of
that organisation. By considering the given case study it can be seen that the care home is not
concerned about the safeguarding and for this reason, the patients coming here to get
treatment are encountering challenges.
As it is the first inspection hence the management of Fleetwood is provided with time to
make necessary changes in their care home to ensure the safety of each patient. However, if
the care home would not perform the changes then it would directly affect the care users and
they would be unable to get their expected medication from this organisation (Dzau et al.,
2017). Offering ineffective treatment to the care users would hamper the reputation of the
care home. It would de-motivate the other users to get medication from them and existing
care seekers also would refuse to continue their treatment here.
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Task 3:
3.1
The monitoring process is considered as a tool by which performance within the workplace
can be managed (Klemets et al., 2017). Proper monitoring can help in making choices and
decisions for the organisation. Active monitoring in a workplace can be implemented by
conducting routine checkups so that safety standards can be maintained. Regular inspections
are also a part of active monitoring (Venerianer et al., 2016). In the case of Reactive
monitoring, investigations are conducted in the work setting after the occurrence of an
incident. In “Fleetwood Hall Home”, reactive monitoring has been conducted by the CQC
when incidents and breaches occurred. Here, the residents have raised major issues regarding
safety.
Monitoring can be done by conducting audits, using surveys and spot checks as well. For
instance, audits can be carried out in the care home as it can be identified whether the care
home is complying with safety laws (McCullough et al., 2017). Additionally, questionnaires
are an effective monitoring tool because within “Fleetwood Hall Home”, residents, staffs and
family members can be surveyed so that their opinions can be considered for future use. Spot
checks are usually conducted in a random manner so that necessary actions can be taken to
recover the quality of services.
The review is a process through which services can be inspected and based on the reviews of
care users, special measures can be taken in “Fleetwood Hall Home” (Goodman et al., 2016).
It was noted that reviews were done at an interval of 6 months in the care home when CQC
observed that improvements have not been properly implemented.
PDCA is a model that can be utilised to administer performances of staffs and to preserve
quality within the care home (Johnson and Sollecito, 2018). Here, P stands for “Plan” and it
implies that the organisation needs to plan the implementation process. Subsequently, D
stands for “Do”; C stands for “Check” and A stands for “Act”. It is one of the basic tools for
monitoring change. Hence, it can be suggested that within “Fleetwood Hall Home”, the
above-mentioned monitoring techniques should be implemented so that the patient’s safety
standards can be enhanced.
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Figure 1: The PDCA model
(Source: Mindtools.com, 2019)
3.2
The phrase culture in a workplace is referred to the working environment. Beliefs, values,
and behaviour of individuals form the culture within the place of work (Alas and Mousa,
2016). Policies can be effective in “Fleetwood Hall Home” only when positive working
cultured can be formed by the collaboration of patients, management and staffs. “Positive and
safety culture” in the care home can be enhanced if the management looks after the
implementation of health policies. In “Fleetwood Hall Home”, women faced safety issues and
hence it can be stated that policies have not been implemented effectively. According to the
CQC report, the overall services were “inadequate”. The complaints procedure is not
followed properly and there was a lack of acknowledgment of patient’s complaints.
RIDDOR is a “health and safety policy” and it should be followed within a care setting to
reduce the frequency of incidents (Council, 2015). In the case of “Fleetwood Hall Home”, it
can be noted that RIDDOR has not been implemented because the CQC report suggested that
the care services were insufficient.
COSHH should be implemented in the care home so that employees can be prevented from
hazardous substances. Contact with destructive chemicals can be a major health issue for
staffs and therefore execution of this law would help in saving lives (Noyce, 2016). When
COSHH is not applied within the setting then, it would threaten the lives of patients as well
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