Managing Health and Safety Duties

Introduction

Managing health and safety in the workplace is crucial to develop proper health care environment, where the patients can get appropriate service and care from the service providers and it also provides a scope to manage the quality of the health and social care service through which the patients can improve their health and mental condition in long run (Bibby, 2017). The study provides a scope to analyse the health and safety legislations in the health care practice so that it is possible to manage safety and security in the workplace of the health and social care organisations. Monitoring and evaluating the existing practice of health and social care as well as implementing the health and social care legislations in the workplace are also effective in this assignment through which it is easy to understand the effects of health and social policies on the workplace. Furthermore, students seeking healthcare dissertation help can gain valuable insights into these legislations, enhancing their understanding and application in real-world scenarios.

LO 1: Understanding how health and safety legislation is implemented in the health and social care workplace

In order to conduct the research of understanding the health and safety legislations in the health and social care institution, it is effective to evaluate the case study of Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Trust where the main issue is slips and trips on the wet hospital floors.

1.1 Reviewing systems, policies and procedures for communicating information on health and social care workplace in accordance with legislative requirements

It is necessary to review and monitor the policies and practice of health and social care by considering the legislative requirements of the health and social care service. The Health and Safety is one of the main priorities of the health care professionals in the Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Trust where they try to take care of the patients in the organisation where they can ensure safety and security of the patients. Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulation 1999 and the Health and Safety at work Act 1974 are effective in this case study where the individuals can slip on the wet floor which is a serious issue and it is the responsibility of the management board of the Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Trust to mitigate the risk of slips and trips on the wet floor of the Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Trust. The Health and Social Care Act 1995 and Care Act 2010 are also effective to manage safety and security on the floor of the Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Trust which are required in this case study for communicating the information and best possible ways to manage the risk of slips and trips (Baron et al., 2014).

1.2 Assessing the responsibilities in a specific health and social care work place for the management of health and safety

It is the key duty of the managers and senior executives of the Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Trust to manage the health and safety of the people who are involved with the institution (Glasby, 2017). In the present case study, the safety precautions are not taken place from the beginning for which the issue of slips and trips arose, and, in this case, it is required immediately to manage the issue so that the management board can ensure safety in the floor. The managers are responsible to inform the ground staff members to mop the floor properly so that the accident of slips and trips can be controlled. The management team needs to implement CCTV and review the performance of the staff members and in this regard the strategy of using dry mopping by micro fibre is effective for ensuring safety in the floor of the Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Trust. For successful assessment, it is necessary to manage the risks and consider the hygienic issue on the hospital floor so that it is also possible to manage the problem of slips and trips and mitigate it by taking effective actions (Glasby, 2017).

1.3 Analysing health and safety priorities appropriate for a specific health and social care work place

In the present case study, it is required to implement the health and safety priorities which are useful and have great significance to manage the issue of slips and trips in the Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Trust. The Reporting of Incidents Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulation (RIDDOR) 1995 in this regard is useful through which it is possible to reduce the numbers of accident taken place on the floor of the Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Trust. The Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Trust needs to maintain proper safety in the workplace so that the accident can be avoided, and it is effective for the patients as well as the staff members on the floor. The service providers need to take care of the quality service where they can ensure health and safety in the workplace and in this regard proper maintenance of hygienic factors as well as managing the mopping technique are beneficial to resolve the existing issue of the Winchester and Eastleigh NHS Trust (Frumkin, 2016).

LO 2: Understanding the ways in which health and safety requirements impact on customers and the work of practitioners in the health and social care workplace

The numbers of obese people in the UK is increasing at a rapid rate and it is necessary to develop effective care plan through which it is possible to manage the bariatric patients in the country. the major risks of the managing the bariatric patients are poor management, inefficient staff members and lack of communication which further deteriorate the quality of the patient’s care.

2.1 Analysing how information from risk assessments informs care planning for individuals and organizational decision making about policies and procedures

The risk assessment planning is effective to identify the risks faced in the workplace where the workers need to develop effective planning to ensure safety and security in the working environment (Phillips et al., 2015). As per the present case study, it is necessary to develop and risk assessment planning to reduce the numbers of people suffering from obesity where the numbers of bariatric patients is increasing at a rapid rate.

The risk assessment planning is appropriate to understand the quality and practice of health and social care service through which the health care professionals deliver their service to the patients. This table is important to identify the risks such as poor communication, lower morale of the employees, lack of safety and risk control, lack of dignity and comfort, inappropriate record keeping for the quality of health and social care can be hampered. In this regard, this table is beneficial for the health care professionals to develop effective planning for mitigating the risks by enhancing communication, managing health and safety rules and legislations and improving employee’s morale so that the staff members can maintain their responsibility to support the patients in long run.

2.2 Analysing the impact of one aspect of health and safety policy on health and social care practice and its customers

One of the main aspects that needs to be considered in this case is poor communication where lack of interaction among the service providers and the patients may deteriorates the quality of social care (Benach et al., 2014). Inappropriate handling of the patients, lack of understanding about the pain and dignity of the patients as well as poor knowledge about the patient’s requirements are the major consequences of the poor communication. It has direct impacts on the quality of the patient’s acre where the bariatric patients cannot get proper service and support from the service providers.

2.3. Discussing how dilemmas encountered in relation to implementing systems and policies for health, safety and security may be addressed

In this part, it is useful to discuss the problems or dilemmas which may deteriorates the quality of health and social care service such as poor communication, non-cooperation and lack of proper understanding about the patient’s needs. Poor communication among the staff members has direct negative impacts on the patients where they cannot get proper service and effective support from the social service providers. The human rights of the patients are also violated, and they cannot be treated transparently and accountably (Thornton et al., 2016). This further deteriorates the value of the organisation and the quality of care where the patients are the victims as the service providers fail to acknowledge the preferences and needs of the bariatric patients. Poor communication also affects trust and loyalty of the patients and the service providers fail to build strong relationship among them where the patients cannot reply on the service providers and they feel insecure to share their problems with the service workers.

2.4 Analysing the effects of non-compliance with health and safety legislation in a health and social care work place

Non-compliance means non-fulfilment which is one of the major issues for which it is difficult for the health and social service providers to maintain the standard of safety and security in the workplace where lack of implementation of health and safety legislations, lack of transparency and accountability in the health care service raises the issue of non-compliance in the health care organisations. There are negative effects of non-compliance where the patients cannot get adequate support and quality care due to internal problems of non-cooperation, lack of communication and poor management. It affects both the service providers and the users where the service users cannot get proper service and the service providers cannot perform well and manage the quality of the health and social care (Bernal et al., 2017). There is a crucial role of the Care Quality Commission where the service providers can maintain the standard and manage the transparency and accountability for resolving the issue of non-compliance. The Care Quality Commission needs to enhance internal communication and develop effective tactic to support the bariatric patients (Stirton, 2017).

LO 3: Understanding the monitoring and review of health and safety in the health and social care workplace

The case study in this context is about the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust where there are 850 beds and the health and social care practitioners provide clinical and non-clinical service across Surrey and Sussex. The working group of the Trust includes Trust board member, finance manager, tissue viability nurse, nurse manager, infection control nurse and representatives from estates, therapies where they try to cooperate with each other for maximising the patient’s safety.

3.1 Explaining how health and safety policies and practices are monitored and reviewed

According to Barnes et al., (2017), monitoring the performance in the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust is necessary through which it is possible to understand the efficiency of the team members and the capacity of the Trust to perform better so that the patients can get proper care and support from the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust. Regular inspection in this regard is one of the best methods for regular monitoring process where the health and social service providers and other team members in the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust can monitor their progress and evaluate their performance in the organisation (Aveyard, 2014). On the other hand, survey questionnaire can be another option through which it is possible to monitor the performance of the team members. The managers can visit the workplace suddenly and spot checking in this regard is another tactic to review and monitor the health and safety policies and procedure in the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust. The managers and the senior executive team members can monitor the health and safety practice in the workplace through the above-mentioned practice where sudden visit and inspection are effective and on the other hand, the health care professionals can arrange general meeting and review the health and safety policies in the workplace where all the members need to cooperate and express their views in front of others (Barnes et al., 2017).

3.2 Analysing the effectiveness of health and safety policies and practices in the workplace in promoting a positive health and safety culture

The health and social care safety policies and practices in the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust is effective through which it is possible to manage the quality of care and standard of health and social care (PLOS Medicine Staff, 2018). According to Barnes et al., (2017), the RIDDOR is effective in the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust through which it is easy to avoid accident in the workplace and it further helps to maintain worker’s safety and security. Allen et al., (2017) opined that, the Management of Health and Safety at Work 1999 is also beneficial in the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust where the employer ensures safety and security of the employees and staff members in the workplace and it further provides a scope to build strong relationship and trust among the employees. Cameron et al., (2014) stated that, the Employee’s Act is also beneficial where the employees provide proper wages, performance related pay and security to the employees in the workplace. The Data Protection Act 1998 is also advantageous to maintain security of the information in the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust which is effective to manage the information of the patients and also the workers in the workplace. Hereby, the workplace safety and security are advantageous for the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust where the trust can improve the working practice and develop positive culture in the workplace where the employees, staff members, nurses and practitioners can work collaboratively without any harassment and insecurity (Cameron et al., 2014).

3.3 Evaluating own contribution to placing the health and safety needs of individuals at the Centre of practice

As per the own contribution at the centre of practice, I am working as a care worker and in this regard, it is my responsibility to identify the needs of managing health and safety in the workplace so that it is possible to maximise the quality of care for the people who needs proper health and social service. in this regard I try to arrange effective training and development program so that it is possible to improve our skill and technical knowledge to perform better in the workplace for maximising the patient’s care (Allen et al., 2017). Moreover, according to Cameron et al., (2014), group discussion is another technique through which try to express my views and gather more experience from others to improve my knowledge. Apart from that, I try to interact with others and improve internal communication for reviewing and monitoring the existing practice of the health and social care service. I try to manage internal safety and security by implementing CCTV camera, emergency alarm, fire exit and security locks which are essential for the organisation to maintain safety and security of the employees and also for the patients in the health and social care organisation (G. Scambler, S. Scambler and Speed, 2014). Moreover, the RIDDOR, COSHH, Health and Social Care Act 2008, legislation and systems, Data Protection Act 1998 and other policies and Management of Health and Safety 1999 are effective through which I can maximise health and social care safety and security in the workplace where it is possible to develop positive working culture for the staff and nurses as well as other members to work collaboratively and safely (Stirton, 2017).

Conclusion

The above discussion is beneficial to understand the existing health and social care legislative structure and practice through which the health care organisations can manage safety and security of the employees in the workplace. It is the responsibility of the team members and managers of the health and social care organisations to manage risk and ensure safety and security of the employees in the workplace so that the employees can work safely and maximise the organisational objective of providing they best quality care to the patients. For reviewing and monitoring the process, it is necessary to conduct survey, spot checking, sudden visit and group discussion which provide a scope to monitor the health and safety policies in the workplace. I as a social care worker also discussed about my contribution and the tactics of managing Health care Act, implementing CCTV, fire extinguisher and emergency alarm are effective to maximise health and safety at workplace and it further provides me a scope to develop positive working culture in the health and social care institution.

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