Health

Health and safety at workplace

Introduction

The Health and Safety at the workplace is essential as it helps the healthcare organisations to provide a safe working environment for service providers and offers quality care services and healthcare environment for the service users. The maintenance of health and safety at workplace also helpful to create loyal customers as the families of service users due to feeling of safety wish to regularly access healthcare from the organisation. In this assignment, the way health and safety legislation are implemented at the care homes are understood through discussion. The way health and safety requirements are to be met and its impact on the healthcare organisation such as Fleetwood Care Home is also to be discussed. Lastly, the way monitoring and reviewing of the health and safety at the health organisation are to be done is also discussed.

Reviewing of the procedures, systems and policies for the communication of information regarding health and safety

The reviewing of the systems, policies and procedures for communication of information related to health and safety is executed in for Fleetwood Care Home to identify the way they are affecting the care quality of service users. The Health and Safety (First-Aid) Regulations 1981 informs that all the employers at the organisation are to be provided effective and adequate facilities to ensure that immediate care is provided to them in case of any injury or health issues at work (www.hse.gov.uk, 1981). The policy is not followed at Fleetwood Care Home which is evident as staffs reported that there is always inadequate number of individuals and facilities available to offer safety and health care in need as mentioned in the case study. This is going to cause unsafe working environment for the staffs as well as service users as their safety is not ensured by the organisation making the staffs and service users to avoid accessing and providing care at the organisation. The Act is required to be followed to establish a safe working and healthcare environment for the staffs and service users by Fleetwood Care Home through implementation of adequate availability of safety facilities and personals. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 is introduced to reinforce Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 which informs that it is the duty of the employer and employees to ensure health and safety at the workplace for the service users and others (www.legislation.gov.uk, 1999). As per the case study, the Act is not effectively followed by Fleetwood Care Home which is true as the services users who have issues with mobility at the Fleetwood Care Home reported that no safety is ensured for them by the service providers to walk on slippery floors. This is going to create accidents and fatal falls at the organisation resulting to create a negative name in the healthcare industry. Thus, the care home by following the Act requires installing safety signs and slippery-proof mobility equipments for the service users to ensure their safety. The Data Protection Act 1998 informs that it is the duty of the organisation to maintain service users confidently (www.legislation.gov.uk, 1998). In Fleetwood Care Home, this Act was also improperly followed as the medical records of the patients were inappropriately handled. This is going to make the patients face humiliation or harm from the society due to their health issues. Thus, the organisation with immediate effect requires installing security software and developing safety precautions in maintaining medical records of service users by following the Act. The Health and Social Care Act 2008 along with Mental Health Act 2007, Disability Discrimination Act 1995 are to be followed by Fleetwood Care Home which they have not still followed. This is to offer effective healthcare and safety to the service users who have mental health issue, dementia and others health problems.

Assessment of the responsibilities in the health and social organisation for managing health and safety

The Managers at the health and social care organisation has the key responsibility to ensure qualitative and safe care along with effective working condition of the organisation (Killett et al. 2016). In Fleetwood Care Home, they follow a hierarchical structure in which the Manager of the care home has the key responsibility to ensure health and safety at the place. As mentioned in the case study, it is seen that in Fleetwood Care Home the safety precautions for the service users and staffs are not effectively ensured. Therefore, it the key responsibility to raise the number of safety maintenance staffs and equipments at the care home to offer safe and qualitative services to the patients. This is because without effective safety maintenance accidents and falls can be faced that is going to harm the employees and deteriorate service users health (Hignett et al. 2016). Moreover, it is the responsibility of the Manager at the Fleetwood Care Home to install safety alarms, safety signs and others to ensure safety to the service users. The Manager also responsible for installing and monitoring CCTV, safety locks, visitor’s register and others to avoid entry of harmful and inappropriate visitors at the care home as no such equipments are registered at the care home.

In the Fleetwood Care Home, the staffs are not provided effective training and guidance to offer safe and better healthcare services at the care home. This is going to provide hindered healthcare facility to the service users due to which they may face deteriorated health issues (Goodman et al. 2016). Thus, the Manager at the care home needs to have the key responsibility to arrange training for the service providers so that they learn to offer effective and safe care services to service users. Further, the Manager at Fleetwood Care Home is responsible to execute regular risk assessment and regularly create auditing of the care home so that overall risks and hygiene issues to be faced by the care home are identified. The Manager with the act is going to create a better safe and healthy environment in the care home which is not presently established as reported by the service users. The Manager at the Fleetwood Care Home has the responsibility to arrange vigilance for the service provided at place for the disabled and mental patients so that abuse and harm to them can be avoided. The Fleetwood Care Home is also responsible to offer guidance to the service providers so that proper administration and management of medicine is done for the health betterment of service users. This is because wrong administration and management of medicine create health issues for service users (Elliott et al. 2016).

Analysis of the health and safety priorities for a specific health and social care organisation

In Fleetwood Care Home, various health and safety priorities are required to be maintained. The Reporting of Incidents Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulation (RIDDOR) 1995 informs that it is the duty of the employees and employers to control any issues of diseases outbreak, accidents and others at the workplace (www.oshcr.org, 1995). The Fleetwood Care Home need to abide by the regulation on a priority basis because they offer care to a wider number of service users who are sick in different way and cannot take their own care of health and safety. Thus, abiding by the Act is going to help Fleetwood Care Home to avoid any outbreak of infectious diseases and occurrence of accidents at the workplace. The Fleetwood Care Home require to maintain properly working safety aids such as wheelchair, electrical hoist and others so that safe mobility is ensured to the mentally ill and dementia patients at the care home. The Fleetwood Care Home need to have the priority to ensure effective training and guidance for the service providers so that they provide quality care and offer them mentioned dosage amount and proper medicines. This is because it is reported in the case scenario that services users are not able to get quality care and facing issues with proper administration, storage and management of medication that are hindering service user’s health. In Fleetwood Care Home, it is of key priority that separate wards and toilets for male and female are established so that the female patients do not feel uncomfortable or unsafe. This is because it is mentioned in the case scenario that female patients are facing issues due to lack of separate wards and toilets as they feel unsafe around men. As mentioned by Masih et al. (2017), effective risk assessment results to identify and prioritise risks at the workplace that are properly resolved with effective measures. The Fleetwood Care Home thus requires implementing risk assessment on a regular basis so that safety priorities at the care home are effectively established. This is going to ensure safe environment of health and work for service users and service providers. The Fleetwood Care Home needs to have the key priority to implement services for treatment of individuals with challenging behaviour so that they can be normalised. This is because service users are facing hindrances to move around and are remaining in bed due to fear of being harmed by the challenging behaviour patients. The care home also requires recruiting increased number of safety staffs on an emergency basis so that the lack of staff issues to handle and manage safety in the organisation is resolved for the service users.

Analysing the way risk assessment informs about care planning and decision-making in organisation

The risk assessment helps in identification and prioritisation of the key risks to be faced in the workplace that are required to be resolved immediately to ensure a safe working environment (Laschinger, 2014). This helps in effective care planning for the service users as the organisation can develop the planning in such a way so that it helps to cover and resolve all the identified risk for the service users on time. In Fleetwood Care Home, the implementation of the risk assessment is going to inform them about the safety issues presently been faced by the service users such as inappropriate care services, hindered medicine management, slippery floors and others. Thus, during the care planning for the service users, the manager and service providers at the care home are going o plan the care services in such a way so that the risks are not encountered and resolved. As argued by Evans et al. (2018), lack of risk management is going to make the care homes unable to identify issues being faced and to be experienced by the service users in accessing care. Thus, the adoption of the risk assessment by Fleetwood Care Home is going to help them develop effective safety measures in the care plan. This is going to resolve present and future risks that may have been faced b the service users which would have hindered their health and satisfaction with care services. In the below tables, the risk assessment and care planning to be made for service users at Fleetwood Care Home are mentioned.

Analysis of the effect of one aspect related to health and social care on service users

There are various aspects related to health and safety practices out of which risk identification and management is one factor to be met to ensure safety at the workplace. As per Wager et al. (2017), the risk identification and management is the finding of the dangerous factors that creates threat at the workplace regarding cause of fatal accidents and deaths. The employees at the Fleetwood Care Home require maintaining proper risk identification and management so that injuries, accidents and deaths at workplace can be avoided. The risk assessment and management is to be done by following the guidelines under the Management of Health and Safety at Workplace Act 1999. According to this Act, it is the equal responsibility of the care home and its employees to identify risks prior to their occurrence and develop measures to counter them. Thus, by following the Act Fleetwood Care Home would be able to avoid the safety issues presently prevailing within the organisation to be resolved and assure safe care environment for the service users. The Fleetwood Care Home also require to follow the statement made under section 7 of Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 that informs risk controlling measures are to be taken while manual handling (www.hse.gov.uk, 1974). Thus, the staffs under the risk identification and management aspect require ensuring effective measures are taken while manually handling or shifting objects at the care home under the Act. This is effective to avoid accidents due to inappropriate handling and falling of objects in the care home that would hurt service users.

Discussing the impact of the dilemmas in health and social care

Article 1: Leadership and Leadership Development in Healthcare: The Evidence Base

The dilemma in health and social care is a situation in which a difficult selection is to be made between two decisions where each one of them is equally desirable to be accepted (Morgan et al. 2017). In case of Mrs Y who is being treated at Fleetwood Care Home informs that the individual avoids binding the straps in the wheelchair while moving that has caused bruised in her legs. The activity is has created a dilemma in service as by forcing the patient to bind the strap without her will would led to violation of the article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights. The Article 8 of Human Rights in the UK informs that no public authority have the right to interfere in the personal life and will of individuals (www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk, 2017). However, by not forcing Mrs Y to bind the strap is going to create violation of article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights. The article 3 of the Human Rights informs that no individual under any condition are to be subjected to any torture or degrading treatment or punishment (www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk, 2017). Thus, the service providers in Fleetwood Care Home feel the dilemma of abiding with which decision to be made. This is because if they abide with the article 8 they are going to face violation of article 3 and violation of article 3 is going to hinder the dignity and rights of Mrs Y. The service providers require communicating with Mrs Y to identify the reason behind her refusal to bind the strap of the wheelchair while moving. This is because it is going to inform the service providers about the hindrances being faced by Mrs Y due to which she has refused and they can implement effective measure to resolve the issue. The services providers in this case also need to make Mrs Y understand in a polite and compassionate manner regarding the benefit of binding the strap of the wheelchair. This because compassionate and polite behaviour makes the service users feel loved and valued and thus out of satisfaction of care services they accepts the care without creating avoidance or issues (Hunter, 2016). The act is going to help the service providers to make Mrs Y give person will to bind the strap thus avoiding dilemma in service and effective abidance with the law.

Analysis of the impact of non-compliance in health and social care

The non-compliance with the health and safety legislation by the care homes creates legal issues for them that damage the organisation’s reputation (Nadvi and Raj‐Reichert, 2015). This is because non-compliance with health and safety legislation results to provide hindered and unsatisfactory service to the service users. In case of Fleetwood Care Home, it is seen that their lack of compliance with health and safety policy has led to legal actions by CQC which has tarnished the image of the organisation. This is evident as services users are showing resentment to avail services from the organisation. As commented by Hale et al. (2015), non-compliance with the health and safety legislation leads the care homes to be closed with legal notice. In case of Fleetwood Care Home, it is already seen that CQC have through closing down the care home if they do show improvement in service policies within the allocated time given to them. As argued by Arntz-Gray (2016), non-compliance with the health and safety legislation creates lower morale of the service providers. This is because they do not enthusiastic at work as a result of lack of disciple. Thus, they are oriented to provide hindered services to services users without showing effective care quality. This is evident as in the Fleetwood Care Home similar circumstance is faced where the employee are showing lower morale to work due to lack of non-compliance with the health and safety legislating by the organisation. As commented by Brough et al. (2016), non-compliance with health and safety policies creates lack of safe working environment for the service providers. Thus, the service providers due to fear of feeling unsafe provides ineffective quality services resulting in lower quality care services by the care home as seen in case if Fleetwood Care Home. The non-compliance with the health and safety legislation has made Fleetwood Care Home to create an unhealthy and unsafe environment for the service users.

Explaining the way monitoring and reviewing of health and safety legislation are done

The monitoring and review are important for the organisation to identify the extent of performance and tracking the implemented care service efficiency to provide quality care to the service users (Emilsson et al. 2015). In Fleetwood Care Home, the performance review and monitoring of the service providers are to be done by the Manager by executing regular and monthly inspection of the services provided by service providers. As mentioned by Flodgren et al. (2016), regular inspection of the services by the employees helps the managers of the organisation to identify the issues at work being faced by the employees and the updated knowledge they require to have for better performance. Thus, by implementing the regular inspecting method for monitoring and reviewing of the service providers Fleetwood Care Home would able identify the issues being faced at work and the extent of updated knowledge service providers require to offer quality services to service users. The monitoring and reviewing of care services at the Fleetwood Care Home can also be done by providing survey questionnaire to services users and their families. As mentioned by Wong et al. (2015), survey of the service users and their family’s opinion regarding healthcare services assists to track the extent of care service efficiency to offer satisfaction and improved health benefit to service users. The organisation later based on the information develops their care services accordingly so that any dissatisfactory responses in the survey against any care services can be resolved. As argued by Almeida et al. (2015), in response to survey many services users can provide vague and unreal information regarding care services being provided to them. Thus, the Fleetwood Care Home while analysing the results of the survey require to check the authenticity of the responses made by personally inspecting each response against the services given. The Manager at Fleetwood Care Home can also adopt the spot checking way to monitor and review the care services and safety precaution being offered at the care home. As per Xie and Helfert (2017), spot-checking is the way to sudden visits to the organisation by the higher official to check the work progress. This may sometimes rise to disputes and conflicts by the subordinates that they are not believed by the higher officials. Thus, Fleetwood Care Home to avoid such issues requires to politely interacting with the subordinates while executing spot check and make.

Analysing the effectiveness of health and safety policies at the workplace

The effectiveness of health and safety policy in healthcare organisation is that it assists to provide quality care services that are non-discriminative, ethical and disciplined in nature. As asserted by Braithwaite et al. (2015), the health and safety policies are effective to create a disciplined care service environment which boosts the morale of the employees to work. This is because the policies act as a guideline for service providers regarding the way they are to offer effective service without facing conflicts or legal hindrance. Thus, the implementation of the health and safety policies is effective to help Fleetwood Care Home to boost the employee morale. The effectiveness of health and safety policy is that it assists the organisation to create a safe and caring environment for the service users as well as service providers (Ulrich and Kear, 2014). Thus, the effectiveness of the safety policies for the Fleetwood Care Home is that it is going to offer them creates a safe and caring environment that is presently lacking. The RIDDOR has the effectiveness to avoid accidents and spread of diseases at the workplace (www.oshcr.org, 1995). The Fleetwood Care Home would be positively affected by the regulation as they can be able to minimise major accidents and avoid spread of infection diseases at the organisation. The Management of Health and Safety at Work 1999 informs that adequate safety precautions are to be taken by employees and employer to ensure safety within the organisation (www.legislation.gov.uk, 1999). The Fleetwood Care Home would be affected by the policy to create a safe working environment that is risk-free. The Mental Health Act 2007 informs that effective medical care is to be provided to the mentally ill patients to improve their health and empower them (www.legislation.gov.uk, 2007). The Act is effective for Fleetwood Care Home to offer standard care services and ensure better management of the mentally ill patients at their care home. The Data Protection Act 1998 is effective for the Fleetwood Care Home to ensure confidently of the medical records of the service users. This assures the service users to feel safe to avoid harm and humiliation at the society that could have been faced due to exposure of their medical information. The risk assessment practice is effective for Fleetwood Care Home to ensure a risk and accident-free environment of the service users with better care plan for their health management. The training practices at the Fleetwood Care Home are effective to create a better care environment for the service users with better service satisfaction to them.

Evaluating my own contribution

In my centre of practice, I was working as a Care Home Manager where I executed each responsibility in an effective way to ensure high standards of care and safety for all individuals. I have arranged training session for my subordinates so that they are able to have updated knowledge regarding the way to deliver improved quality services to all service users. This is required as care services ways are being improved each day and the demands of the service users are changing at a steady rate. Thus, the training is going to help them face the challenges at care services with efficiency and without hindrance. I personally interacted with the service providers and other staffs regarding the issues at work they need to be resolved to offer them better opportunity to offer care services smoothly. Moreover, I ensured that each of the service users is monitored and reviewed regularly so that their health status can be known. I as the Manager also reviewed the working performance of the service providers to identify what further improvements need to be made to assure better healthcare by them to the service users. I have also ensured that risk assessment is conducted on a monthly basis so that safety of the organisation can be ensured by developing measures against the identified risks. I have ensured that proper medication administration and management is made for each service users so that they get effective treatment facility at the care home. I have also ensured the safety of my workplace by installing CCTV, security locks and alarms along with others so that the service users may feel safe while accessing healthcare at the organisation. Further, I have arranged monthly meetings with the families of the service users to identify their level of satisfaction with the care provided by us and what improvements they require us to be made. This is to ensure better health facility to service users. Moreover, I have developed compliance with the RIDDOR, COSHH, Health and Social Care Act 2008, Management of Health and Safety 1999, Data Protection Act 1998 and various others policies, legislation and systems. This is done to ensure a disciplined, ethical and non-discriminatory care service opportunity at my workplace.

Conclusion

The discussion informs that the Fleetwood Care Home have not followed effective health and safety policies that have led them to face care service and safety issues at the care home apart from other problems. On analysing, it is found that the Manager at the care home has the key responsibility to arrange risk assessment, ensure safety and security of the place, arrange effective training for employees and others. Further, it is seen that Fleetwood Care Home by executing risk assessment would be able to create better care planning for service users as all the risk would be resolved within the plan to provide high standard care to the service users. Moreover, it is seen that services providers at Fleetwood Care Home need to act in a compassionate and calm way to resolve dilemma. Further, it is suggested that Fleetwood Care Home need to adapt survey, spot checking, evaluation of employees and others for effective monitoring and reviewing of the performance at the workplace. Lastly, I have mentioned how my contributions are made to my workplace to ensure health and safety.

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