Health and Safety Report: NHS Health and Social Care Practices

This report delves into the critical aspects of health and safety within the healthcare sector, focusing on the National Health Service (NHS). It examines the importance of established systems, policies, and procedures for effectively communicating health and safety information. The report analyzes the responsibilities for managing health and safety, emphasizing the role of managers in ensuring a secure environment for both service users and employees. It explores the analysis of health and safety priorities, using surgical practices as a case study, highlighting the significance of pre-procedure verification processes and patient involvement. Furthermore, the report investigates how information from risk assessments informs care planning, particularly in addressing manual handling risks. It discusses the impact of health and safety policies on healthcare practices, the management of dilemmas, and the consequences of non-compliance with health and safety legislation. The report also covers monitoring and reviewing health and safety practices, analyzing workplace policies, and evaluating individual contributions to safety. The report uses various figures and tables to show the importance of safety practices.

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................2
1.1 Systems, policies and procedures for ensuring information on health and safety is
communicated properly...............................................................................................................3
1.2 Assessment of responsibilities for managing health and safety............................................3
1.3 Analysis of health and safety priorities.................................................................................3
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................4
2.1 Analysing the way information from risk assessment informs care planning for an
individual.....................................................................................................................................4
2.2 Analysing the impact of one aspect of health and safety policy on health and social care...5
practices.......................................................................................................................................5
2.3 Discussing the way dilemmas encountered and policies for health and safety.....................5
2.4 Analysing the effects of non compliance with health and safety legislation at health and...6
Social care work place.................................................................................................................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................6
3.1 Monitoring and reviewing of the health and safety practices................................................6
3.2 Analysing the health and Safety practices & policies within workplace...............................7
3.3 Evaluating self contribution in placing the health and safety needs at workplace................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................9

Figure 1: Safety Practices................................................................................................................2
Figure 2: Surgical Safety concerns..................................................................................................2
Figure 3: Health and Social care......................................................................................................2

INTRODUCTION
Health and social care is the largest service industry that is engaged into serving patients
and needy people with the services. Along with providing services to the users, it is very
essential to ensure safety standards as well so that people could be protected from getting
harmed. Various kinds of errors takes place in the medical industry such as medication, surgical
and many more (Aveyard, 2014). Thus, it has raised demand to be given special attention and to
ensure safety of employees and patients could be maintained. NHS organisation has been used to
study various case scenarios and need of safety standards in the system. In the report, ways of
communicated polices and procedures related to health and safety will be studied. Effects of non-
compliance with legislation in healthcare will be covered. Different ways for monitoring safety
practises will be also be covered in the report.
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TASK 1
2
1.1Systems, policies and procedures for ensuring information on health and
safety is communicated properly
It is very essential to create health and safety policies in healthcare
organisations. As per the health and safety act 1974, for all the organisations
that has minimum number of 5 employees and is has been established are
needed to create safely policies for the workers (Makai, Brouwer and Nieboer,
2014). This act constitutes possible actions that would be taken up in case of
emergency.
A provision was introduced in 2013 which was named as Injuries, Diseases
and Dangerous Occurrences Regulation that presented ways of reporting
injuries that occurs in the premises. It is also required that injuries should be
recorded is a systematic way and reporting should be done to the
HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE
Figure 1: Health and Social care
1.2 Assessment of responsibilities for managing health and safety
There are various kinds of responsibilities which are required to be
ensured in the NHS organisation when safety issues are concerned related to
service users and working employees. It is the responsibility of manager to
ensure that all the members in the premises feel safe and secured.
They are also needed to analyse potential risks that could affect well-
being of people. They are also engaged in creating policies for care setting
along with its implementation in the firm. All the safety policies and
procedures should be implemented in such a way that legislative requirements
should be fulfilled (Glasby and Dickinson, 2014). Health care practises should
be monitored ensuring all the people working in the organisation are following
them and nobody is being treated on unfair means. Management team is
engaged into managing all the activities of the firm so that objectives are
fulfilled in a much better way.
1.3 Analysis of health and safety priorities
Service chosen for the health and safety priorities is surgical. Errors in the
surgery has increased over the years which is needed to be controlled as many
people has suffered huge health issues as a result of it. When a surgical process is
carried out on wrong patient or body part, then it is termed as wrong site surgery
(Dickinson and O'Flynn, 2016). Therefore, there is huge demand and attention is
required to be given up on this matter so that patients could be safeguarded from
these situations. For ensuring safety following practises could be implemented:
•Pre-procedure verification process: Before staring any surgery it should be
ensured that all the related documents of the patient is available and cross
verification should be done. If some details are found missing then it is the
responsibility of in-charged team to make it available so that surgical procedure
could be conducted in proper manner..
Figure 3: Safety Practices
Figure 2: Surgical Safety concerns
Penticton Health Industry. 2015. [Online]. Available through: <
http://dianzig.com/>. [Accessed on 24th July 2017].
Vivo Health care. 2017. [Online]. Available through:
<http://vivohealthcare.com/>. [Accessed on 24th July 2017].

1.1 Systems, policies and procedures for ensuring information on health and safety is
communicated properly
In the given case scenario, Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Trust had various issues
related to safety in the hospital. The major issue encountered was slips and trips on the wet
floors. This has caused damaged to huge number of people. Thus, it is essential for the
authorities to take few steps in regard to it.
Along with safety procedures, document for risk assessment is also created. As in the premises
of NHS, it has been found that problems of slips has been encountered. Thus, all kinds of risks in
the working environment is needed to be included in the risk assessment document and are also
required to identify and analyse extent to which it could produce harm. Therefore, it demands
framing of actions that would be needed to put into actions so that its effects could be minimized.
Pictures and graphical methods could be utilized for communicating information to the
people in the healthcare organisation. In case of emergencies, exit pathways could be provided
(Cameron, Bostock and Coomber, 2014). In the current study, fibre mops could be utilized to
ensure people does not face accidents due to wet floors in the NHS. Thus, in such ways safety
could be ensured.
1.2 Assessment of responsibilities for managing health and safety
If any incident has occurred in the healthcare organisation like NHS in our case study, then it
becomes necessary for the management to record its occurrences and associated reason behind it.
This would be helpful in identification of major accidents and accordingly procedures could be
framed so that to occur them again in the future could be controlled. It is also needed to check on
regular basis that equipments are working properly.
Along with management team, doctors, nurses, service users, etc. have the same
responsibility to follow safety standards that has been executed in the NHS. Everybody in the
premises are required to follow rules and maintain safety as well. For example, if there has been
seen that floor is wet in the hospital then people should avoid walking onto it. In context to it,
fibres mops could be used by the hospital so that such kind of issues could be minimized.
1.3 Analysis of health and safety priorities Safety checklist: World health organisation has published safety checklist which should
be taken up by all the organisations into consideration. It may include inducing
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anaesthesia, review of medical history of the patient so that other health issues could be
identified and accordingly treatment could get started (Stanley and Mills, 2014). By
involving the entire team in the surgical verification process and engaging them to
analyse possible errors that may occur in the process could reduce risks to a great extent.
 Involvement of patient: They could assist to a great extent in reducing such kind errors.
They should be taught before surgery about the completed procedure so that they could
also have knowledge about it.
Task 2
2.1 Analysing the way information from risk assessment informs care planning for an individual
According to the given scenario, there are many organisations that do not have any
bariatric's policy. These policies are required for the process planning, assessment and
management of manual handling risks which consider number of staff, provision of appropriate
equipment and intra and inter agency communication (Berwick, 2013.). Due to increase in
accident at the health and social care it becomes compulsory for the health care organisation to
conduct risk assessment. It assists employees to and service user to minimize risk from
workplace, so that all activities can be carried out risk free. Along with this, if risk were
identified at workplace then it becomes easy to take action for controlling it. According to the
health and safety act it essential for the organisation to have risk assessment document which can
be display publicly in the premises. In care planning there are some steps which are as follows:
Meeting needs: For the health care organisation it is important to develop care plan so
that needs and wants of services user and employees can be meet on time. For instance, at health
care home due to breaking of equipment accident take place (Chassin and Loeb, 2013.).
Therefore, it is important for the organisation to ensure all the equipment are kept safely so that
chance of accident can be reduced from the health care organisation.
Security: It is essential for the health care company to create a security system which
assist in reducing maximum number of hazard. Along with this, proper monitoring all the risky
area also help in providing care to employees as well as employees.
Care planning process need to be improved so that spatial risk factor which are identified
at workplace can be removed. Conducting risk assessment assist in analysing the area which are
associated with risk and error which occur in health and safety measure can be improved.
Through this decision making can be improved which benefit the individual and employees of
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health care organisation. Hence, it can be stated that care planning can be improved with the help
of risk assessment.
2.2 Analysing the impact of one aspect of health and safety policy on health and social care
practices
There are different types of policy which are implemented by the organisation in health and
social care organisation. Some of the policies come under the management of health and safety
act 1984 and health and safety at work regulation 1999. Impact of this policy in services user and
employees are as follows:
At the health and social care organisation different situation take place while providing
services to patient. For instance, care team of health care organisation is verbally abused and
threatened by a services' user. Along with this, some of the services' provider also get bitten by
the patient at the time of providing treatment. Therefore, it is also essential to reduce this kind of
violence and aggression (Dickinson and O'Flynn, 2016). Policy can be made which fit the
framework of care home for reducing such kind of problems which are faced by care workers.
Through conducting risk assessment it becomes easy for the employees to find out risk and
reduce it from workplace. Apart from this, any type of violence take place at the organisation
then on time possible action need to be taken by the authority. Further staff members should be
encouraged so that they can report to higher authority for this problems. Providing training
facility to employees make them enable to handle such kind of violent. Training provided to
employees essential for them to handle mental patient. All the equipment which harm employees
must be kept safely and far from patient so that not accident take place. Good communication not
assist in avoiding and managing risk from the work place. As per the scenario, obese population
in the UK is increasing and this group is over represented in their use of health and social care
services. There are many health and social care trust who do not have any policy related to
bariatrics. Within the health care organisation this policy are needed in respect to handle manual
risk which covers number of staff, provision of appropriate equipment etc.
2.3 Discussing the way dilemmas encountered and policies for health and safety.
According to the given scenario,at UK there is increase in the number of patient of obese
and there is less policy implemented at the health care organization for handling them. Different
situation take place in implementing health and safety policies at the workplace. There are many
difficulties faced by trust related to the policies and procedures of the organization. There at the
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health care home there is almost 30% of ambulance not having specialist vehicles and 33% of
respondents reporting inaccessible area in their building (Ceasar, Kushel and Knight, 2016).
Employees at the work place were not provided proper training facility to handle obese patient in
an effective manner. Along with this patient who are unable to walk were not provided wheel
chair facilities and ambulance to reach hospital.
2.4 Analysing the effects of non compliance with health and safety legislation at health and
Social care work place.
There are different types of effects which take place withing the health and social care
organization. Some of the impact of the non compliance is as follows:
Financial impact; At the health and social care organization different types of equipment
is needed for treatment. All this equipment cost high due to which many health care home not
afford it and maintain it. For instance, costly equipment need to maintain properly because it
were not repaired on time then it can harm care workers and services users. Therefore, it can be
stated that non compliance of health and safety legislation can lead to the financial impact (Dau-
Schmidt, Finkin and Covington, 2016).
Legal impact: There are many act which are made by government for maintaining health
and safety to employees. All the acts need to implement by the organization so that in case of
non compliance then legal action can be take by the government authority in the against of
company.
Health and safety policy is essential for an organization because it help employees in
working safe and secure environment. All policies are implemented for the benefit of the
employee as well as employers.
TASK 3
3.1 Monitoring and reviewing of the health and safety practices
As seen in the current case, non-effective monitoring of the clinical & non-clinical
services by Surrey and Sussex Healthcare-trust, have resulted in equipments being in poor state
at all times. To assess this in an appropriate manner, there exist certain set of safety and health
related policies whose implementation will enable to obtain better results (The Role of Health
Professionals, 2016).
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Audits for risks and risk-assessment within organisations of health and care are among
the effective ways in which the health and safety policies & practice could be monitored and
reviewed. Contextualising upon the risk audit, individual in health and safety field would assess
the current environment of Surrey and Sussex. He would be determining all the available risks
within the organisational premises and accordingly include them in organisation assessment.
Adding more to this, another method is also there in existence which could effectively review the
organisational practices & policies (Social cognitive theory, 2015). As per this method, from the
employees and customers of cited organisation, reviews will be undertaken regarding their
experience within the health and safety systems currently followed at Surrey and Sussex. The
reason is that they have detailed idea about the accident taking place within the organisation and
also how effective the currently followed policies have been to keep environment healthy & safe.
So, as a result, this technique could be utilised for effective monitoring and reviewing currently
followed procedures and making the necessary modification considering the future.
3.2 Analysing the health and Safety practices & policies within workplace
If Surrey and Sussex healthcare trust are able to ensure that their current practices and
policies ensure safe environment then, this would positively impact the service-users and
employees as well. Such practices would also improve the quality of equipments used to
successfully assess ample people are benefited from their services.
So, coming towards the ways in which this could be achieved, variety is there. The cited
organisation should follow documentation covering the risk assessment for the purpose of
avoiding injuries as well as accidents in healthcare organisation (Zohar, 2014). So, this particular
approach tends to be rather effective seeking the current situation of Surrey and Sussex. Adding
more to this, the employees and users of services, who were not at all aware about the risks at
organisation, will be updated. Also, they would be getting knowledge about the involved risks
when an activity is performed without taking the necessary precautions. So, thereby ample of
injuries or harms by ineffective equipments would be easily avoided (Shi and Singh, 2014).
Besides this approach, another technique is there known as training programmes. The
employees would be helped greatly for practising their operational activities which match the
standards of industries. This would in a way promote safety and security up to highest standards
for the users of service & operators as well. Henceforth, in order for ensuring the employees and
service-users safety, training should be undertaken as a proactive approach (Reese, 2015).
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3.3 Evaluating self contribution in placing the health and safety needs at workplace
All the people present in social and healthcare systems, possess their own set of
responsibilities & duty as well. Having a sense of these duties ensures enhancement of security
and safety levels for them and other operators including service-users as well.
On coming towards evaluating my own experience, I have done ample contributions
within the Surrey and Sussex, that have enhanced the health and safety of individuals coming to
seek services. The service-users coming at the organisation have different set of needs and
abilities as well. So, these people are unable to perform their assigned activity in secure and safe
manner. In context to this, most of the equipments were found in poor state and so many users
had to face difficulty in dealing with them (Mechanic, McAlpine and Rochefort, 2013). So, I
have given effective guidelines to these users in making them know the ways of using the
equipment in appropriate manner. Also, I have given appropriate presentations to teach them the
correct method of utilising techniques in performing certain activity.
Adding more to this, the new employees at our organisation were also trained by me.
This further contributed in maximisation of the health & safety services provided to the users.
The knowledge offered by me also contributed in enhancing knowledge base of service-workers
within the industry.
Conclusion
From the above report it can be concluded that, at the health and social care organization
there are different type of risk which need to be removed in respect to provide safe working
environment to employees. Through risk assessment it becomes easy for the management to
identify risk at the work place and remove it so that not accident can occur. Management of
health care home should take some responsibility in respect to ensure safety policy of work
place. Further it can be concluded that, proper care planning assist in meeting the needs of car
workers. Policy and method used for safety need to be monitored regularly so that changes can
be made in policy if required. All the policy should be communicated with employees so that
they can take action if any accident occur at the workplace.
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REFERENCES
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evaluations in health and social care for older people: a systematic review. Social science
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