Youth Worker Assignment: Duty of Care, Infection Control and Incidents

This report delves into the multifaceted role of a youth worker, addressing critical aspects such as duty of care, infection control, and incident management. The assignment begins by prioritizing immediate tasks related to the duty of care, focusing on ensuring the safety and well-being of vulnerable service users, particularly in situations involving aggressive behavior. It then outlines infection control procedures, identifying common sources of infection and strategies to mitigate their spread within a youth work setting. Furthermore, the report examines techniques to prevent behavioral escalation, emphasizing both verbal and non-verbal communication, and explores the protocols for reporting incidents, including the necessary documentation and communication with relevant authorities. The report highlights the importance of maintaining a safe and supportive environment for both service users and staff within the context of youth work.

YOUTH WORKER

Table of Content
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................................2
1. List the tasks you would prioritise immediately in relation to your duty of care and explain your
rationale for each priority.).........................................................................................................................2
1. Describe at least one situation, from this case study, or in another youth work service where you
would use infection control procedures......................................................................................................2
2. Name three common sources of infection, using examples from this case study and/or from
another community services work place, and outline three strategies that you could implement to
minimize the risk of spreading the infection in each case...........................................................................3
3. Describe three ways in which Joshua’s behavioural escalation incident could have been prevented.4
4. Who would you report this incident to and what action would you take to make this report?..........5
Conclusion:..................................................................................................................................................5
Reference:...................................................................................................................................................6

Introduction:
The task of the social care worker is pretty challenging. It becomes even more critical to deal
with situations when service users exhibit escalating aggressive behavior. In the following
assignment we will try to understand the various challenges posed to care workers and focus on
the steps they need to take in such situations. (Koolhaas et al 2013)
1. List the tasks you would prioritise immediately in relation to your duty of care and
explain your rationale for each priority.)
It can be understood from the case study that Joshua is an extremely vulnerable condition.
Thus as a young care worker, it is my duty to take up immediate action in regard to the
current situation.
Firstly it is important to give a personal place to the service user. Since Joshua is quite
aggressive, it is important to let him be by himself for some time. Secondly as a care worker I
must ensure the safety of the other service users by keeping them away from Joshua. It is
important to remain calm and composed since agitation on my part may aggravate the
situation.( Price et al,2015) Lastly it may be of benefit if a more personalized approach is
used. By acknowledging his feelings I may be able to calm Joshua down.
1. Describe at least one situation, from this case study, or in another youth work
service where you would use infection control procedures.
Every employer is mandated under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, to ensure a
safe working environment for all employees.( Miller et al,2014) This is inclusive of the

provision of adequate infection control, correct equipment usage and training facilities. In
order to implement a good infection control it is important to follow appropriate procedures
at all times. In this case, it was seen that Joshua on being aggressive starts breaking the glass
cups. This can have been potentially dangerous not only for the service user but also the
service providers like us. Under such circumstance, appropriate infection control can be used.
It is important to have a first aid kit available. Along with that there must be a person trained
to use the kit. Safety equipments such as gloves, gowns, face shield, eye goggles must be
provided to youth service users like us
2. Name three common sources of infection, using examples from this case study
and/or from another community services work place, and outline three strategies
that you could implement to minimize the risk of spreading the infection in each
case.
In a residential home in UK, many service users had fallen sick due to unhealthy
condition prevailing in the center. The three common sources of infection identifies were
unhygienic food preparation techniques, unclean condition of the working place and
faulty techniques of waste disposal. Various strategies were devised to deal with the
situation. (Shah and Baba,2016)
Infection Sources Strategies
Food preparation  Hand wash before and after food
handling
 The food handlers should avoid
touching hair, nose and mouth while
preparing food.
 It is important to wash utensils
before and after use.

Unhygienic working conditions  Regular washing of walls and
ceilings.
 Use of disinfectants
 All cleaning items such as mops and
brushes must be dried after every
use.
Waste disposal techniques  The area must be isolated
 The area must be regularly washed
with hot water and detergent.
 The disposed items must be sorted
into plastic bags.
3. Describe three ways in which Joshua’s behavioural escalation incident could
have been prevented.
De-escalation sometime referred to as ‘talk down” techniques are very often used by
social care workers in order to prevent escalation of hostile behavior on the part of the
service-user. De-escalation is a complex technique which involves both verbal and
nonverbal components. Joshua’s behavioral escalation incident could have been
avoided if timely steps were taken. Such steps could compose of verbal and non-
verbal communication techniques. Verbal technique such as maintaining a cool tone
of voice, avoiding harsh tone or threatening could have been used to de-escalate
Joshua’s behavior. Non-verbal communication techniques in the form of eye contact
and self protection could have been used in this situation. Steps to divert Joshua’
attention could also be of use to avoid the escalation of his behavior.
Though de-escalation is widely used for the management of aggressive behavior,
clear techniques and rules are not covered by the definition.

4. Who would you report this incident to and what action would you take to make
this report?
As a social youth worker it is my duty to report this incident to my manager concerned.
While preparing the report for the manager the following points must be incorporated in
the report. (Miczek et al,2015) Firstly I have to describe the problem to the manager. In
addition to that I have to explain what led to the escalating behavior that is my denial of
giving Joshua petty money to go to Macdonald’s. It is also important to specify in the
report that Joshua claimed that the other care worker had given him money out of his
pocket, which is not accepted by the set laws. The report must also contain details of
Joshua’s reaction before during and after the incident. Finally the report would end with
recommendations.
Conclusion:
Thus through this assignment the problem of escalating aggressive behavior can be
understood. The assignment also tries to put forward the steps which can be taken in
this regard. In addition to that the assignment focuses on the importance of infection
control and highlights an example to show its implication in real life.

Reference:
Koolhaas, J.M., Coppens, C.M., de Boer, S.F., Buwalda, B., Meerlo, P. and Timmermans, P.J.,
2013. The resident-intruder paradigm: a standardized test for aggression, violence and social
stress. Journal of visualized experiments: JoVE, (77).
Miczek, K.A., Takahashi, A., Gobrogge, K.L., Hwa, L.S. and de Almeida, R.M., 2015. Escalated
aggression in animal models: shedding new light on mesocorticolimbic circuits. Current opinion
in behavioral sciences, 3, pp.90-95.
Miller, C.H. and Palenik, C.J., 2014. Infection Control and Management of Hazardous Materials
for the Dental Team5: Infection Control and Management of Hazardous Materials for the Dental
Team. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Price, O., Baker, J., Bee, P. and Lovell, K., 2015. Learning and performance outcomes of mental
health staff training in de-escalation techniques for the management of violence and
aggression. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 206(6), pp.447-455.
Shah, A.F. and Baba, I.A., 2016. Knowledge and practices of infection control procedures in a
Government Dental College setting.