Roles and Responsibilities involved in health, safety and security in health and social and child care environments

What is the role of employers?

◦ Employers: Role is to ensure compliance with the health and safety legislation. Employers must provide: a safe place to work any necessary training; appropriate and safe work equipment

What is the role of NHS?

NHS: Has a role to provide environments that are secure and

healthy to work in and visit. They must provide staff with training.

information and supervision to be able to work safely.

What is the role of Local authority ?

○ Local authority: Has two roles, promoting and enforcing health and safety:

To promote health and safety, local authorities provide guidance and raise awareness of health and safety in health and social care settings by providing information about roles and responsibilities

To enforce health and safety standards, local authorities can carry out inspections and make recommendations for improvements. They can send advisory letters, re-inspect or prosecute premises if they do not maintain adequate standards. For example, regarding food safety the local authority is responsible for the enforcement of food safety legislation through environmental health and Trading Standards

What is the role of Care Manager or private care home?

Care manager or private care home owner: Must develop, review and update the care home's health and safety or health. safety and security policies and procedures. They must also ensure effective safe systems for recording. reporting and investigating accidents injuries, and incidents under RIDDOR regulations

What is the role of Headteacher and board of governors?

◦ Headteacher and Board of Governors: Have oversight and management roles to ensure safeguarding to protect the welfare of staff, students and visitors so that the school site and all the activities that take place are healthy, safe and secure.

What is the role of Third Sector ?

Third Sector: These are charitable organisations that have role to play in safeguarding and promoting health, safety and security for their employees as well as individuals who require their help and support. Example organisations include Barnardo's, Age UK, Childline, MIND and Mencap.

What are the roles of employees?

Employees: Role is to use safe working practices to maintain their own and others' safety, attend health and safety training, use PPE provided and report hazards in the workplace

What are the roles of individuals who required care and support?

Individuals who require care and support: Should follow any health and safety instructions provided verbally by staff, such as during an emergency evacuation practice, or by safety signs such as ' Caution wet floor' or 'No smoking'. They should report any hazards they become aware of.

What are the responsibilities of employers?

Employers

Promoting health and safety policies:

Ensuring all relevant health and safety policies are in place

Ensuring all staff are aware of their responsibilities as stated in the relevant policies

Ensuring health and safety training is provided

Ensuring appropriate staff are recruited, i.e. DBS checked, suitably qualified and/or experienced.

What are the responsibilities of employers?

Maintaining health and safety policies:

○Keeping up to date with legislation

○Updating policies regularly

○ Recording and following up all accidents and incidents

○ Providing induction training for new staff

○ Providing ongoing training

○ Checking the setting for health and safety issues, i.e. carrying out risk assessments, doing safety walks

◦Staff supervision

What are the responsibilities of employers?

Enforcing health and safety policies:

◦ Regular fire drill evacuation practices

◦ Ongoing monitoring and supervision; training

◦ Managing response to external checks, e.g. CQC or Ofsted inspections

○ Monitoring whether policies for staff ratios, levels of supervision and working hours are being

complied with

○ Implementing disciplinary procedures as and when required

What are the responsibilities of employees?

Employees

Using equipment or substances:

○ Using only in accordance with training"

○ Taking care of themselves and others around them

○ Co-operating with wearing PPE as required and provided

○Not tampering with or misusing any equipment provided to meet health and safety regulations, e.g. fire extinguishers

What are the responsibilities of employees?

Reporting serious or imminent danger:

○ Communicating hazards and anything dangerous to the employer immediately

○ Implementing safeguarding procedures

Reporting shortcomings:

○ In health and safety arrangements or procedures

What are the responsibilities of individuals who require care and support ?

Individuals who require care and support

Understanding health and safety policies:

○ Taking part in fire evacuation drills as necessary

○ Reporting any hazards they become aware of

○ Co-operating with risk assessments and safety instructions

What are the consequences of not meeting

responsibilities?

Consequences of not meeting

responsibilities

If health and social care settings do not meet their legal responsibilities there can be severe consequences for employers, employees, individuals who require care and support and their families, and visitors to the setting

Direct costs:

○ The setting being sued for negligence by residents, patients and their families or staff

○ Compensation claims

○Legal costs

○Fines

○Insurance may not pay out if legal obligations were not complied with or procedures not followed.

Indirect costs:

Poor reputation for the care setting; could result in closure

○ Loss of business income if a private care setting; closure due to lack of

income

○ Difficulty recruiting suitable staff, increased training costs

○ Lowered staff morale

○ High staff turnover

○ Loss of trust and respect from colleagues and service users

○ Future employment may be difficult to find.

Disciplinary action:

○ Dismissal of those responsible

○ Disciplinary procedures instigated: verbal warning, first written

warning, final written warning, suspension, dismissal (stage depends

on previous performance)

○ Management changes

○ Increased monitoring of the setting, e.g. Ofsted, CQC, local authority

inspections and re-inspections

○ Requirement for an individual to undergo further training or re-

training

Civil or criminal prosecution:

○ Civil law -sued for compensation

Criminal law:

○ Prosecution for breaching regulations

○ If serious injury or death has occurred, and in cases of negligence

○ Could lead to a custodial sentence in very serious cases.

Causing injury or harm or being injured or harmed:

○ Injury, harm, death of residents, staff or visitors

◦ Examples could be fractured limbs, food poisoning, disease, exposure

to infection, burns

Poor standards of care; neglect; abuse.

What is the removal from professional registers?

Removal from professional registers

Regulators of health, social care and teaching professionals hold registers of those qualified to practise; examples include nurses, midwives, teachers, Regulators of health, social care and teaching professions hold registers of doctors and dentists. For example, the Nursing and Midwifery Council public health nurses eligible to practise within the UK.(NMC) is the regulator for nurses, midwives and specialist community

Individuals can be struck off³ their professional register due to fitness to practise concerns. The fitness to practise process is designed to protect the public from those registrants who are not fit to practise as there are concerns about their ability to practise safely and effectively, for example due to dishonesty, violence or harm to service users.

Removal from professional regısters can involve:

-being struck off and not allowed to practise at all

-practice being restricted-they may be limited in what they are

allowed to do

-Loss of professional status and reputation.