Hazards for the Healthcare Professional in the Healthcare Workplace

In my assignment I will be creating a poster which explains potential hazards and the harm that may arise from them in a health care setting.

Unit 3 P1 - Explain potential hazards and the harm that may arise from each in a health or social care setting

State how changing circumstances within the workplace could cause hazards & the methods used for reporting changed circumstances, hazards and incidents.

The risk management program in any business, especially in a health care organization is an integral part of its day to day operation. The purpose of the risk management department is summed up by Kavaler & Alexander (2014), “…a program designed to reduce the incidence of preventable accidents and injuries to minimize the financial loss to the institution should any accident or injury occur” (p. 5). Protecting employees, patients, vendors and visitors is an ongoing process and one that needs to be updated when the healthcare organization has deemed necessary. This paper will demonstrate the importance of presenting the risk management program to new employees, compliance with the standards set forth by the American Society of Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM), propose recommendations or changes needed to further improve the program, as well as examine the administrative process of managing a risk program.

Before I start work, I ensure that the environment is spacious to avoid any accidents. By ensuring that the floor is dry and clear of any obstruction or material that could result to risk of an accident to both the service user and member of staff in line with Health and Safety first Aids Regulations 1987. I carry out checks on the residential areas and on the surroundings, fire checks and parked the wheelchairs and Zimmer frames in their appropriate places to avoid any accidents. I check to see that all doors and windows were locked and secured and areas are hazard

As health care workers we are under a legal obligation to protect an individual from any kind of abuse, whether it is physical, financial, emotional, sexual or psychological .Legislation, policies and procedures exist to promote a safer working environment and reduce the potential for risks occurring. They are tailored for the needs of each setting, known and understood by employers and employees and reviewed on a regular basis.

Accidents that could happen in my work place could be: cuts and burns, e.g. in the kitchen; Back injuries/strains/sprains from poor handling/lifting techniques; tripping over from things left around the house. Sudden illnesses that could happen are: Strokes; heart attacks; epileptic fits; asthma attacks; diabetic emergencies; seizures; severe headaches; slurred speech; chest pain; difficulty breathing; sickness and diarrhea; vomiting/passing blood.

health and safety procedures and practises should be under continual scrutiny and areas for improvement should be monitored and dealt with. A good method of monitoring & improving are health, safety and security procedures are visually. Check visitors have signed in the visitor’s book, look for items blocking fire exits or hallways, wet signs are in place during cleaning, COSHH cupboards are kept locked, medication trolleys are secure, hoists are clean and stored in a correct storage place. Policies and procedures need to be reviewed regularly to ensure they are still relevant, circumstances in workplace can change and new risk assessments will need to be put in place or old ones reviewed. Policies and procedures may need evaluating and developing

Reporting of Injuries,Diseases and dangerous occurrences regulations of 1995 requires the reporting of work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences. The Act applies to all work related activities, but not to all work related incidents. The objective of the regulations is to enable the enforcing authorities to identify where and how risks arise and to investigate serious accidents so as to prevent them from occurring in the future and thus providing a safer work environment. The enforcing authorities can then help and advise you on preventive action to reduce injury, ill health and accidental loss,the main points of our own policy that relate to this are:

In the workplace employees need to put these safe ways of working into practice; for

Being in a health and social care setting means that there are many opportunities to be exposed to infection. For example MRA (Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus) and hazardous

Walmart identifies many different risks and hazards that an employee may face during work and believe that employees need to be aware of them. These hazards can be identified in various forms such as: physical, ergonomic, chemical, psychological, and safety/security

Specific health problems associated with the workplace have contributed to the development of Particular health issues connected with the work environment have added to the advancement of the cutting edge safety and health development. These issues incorporate lung infections in diggers, mercury harming, and lung tumor attached to asbestos. Occupational and Environmental Health Professionals have an above normal extent of all day employments. For Occupational and Environmental Health Professionals working all day, normal week by week hours are 42.3 and profit are high - in the ninth decile. Unemployment for Health Professionals is underneath normal. H&S Professionals have an expansive extent of specialists amongst individuals in the 25-34 age section, making it an energetic and dynamic workplace. The unavoidable consequence of the expanded consideration given to safety and health is that bigger organizations are utilizing safety and health professionals and all organizations big or small are relegating these obligations to existing representatives.

There are safe principles for moving and handling, by following them it protects those in the social care setting from injury and harm. This will also reduce the risk of injury and it will make you look at and identify potential hazards and risks. It also gives you the opportunity for alternative working practices this could be trained for the different types of moving and handling aids. When moving someone/something additional support may be necessary, as the area could be cramped the load could be heavy or unstable. It is very important for moving and handling that all task are carried out and the correct training has been undertaken as this comply with the legislation and to minimise any injury to our

Patient safety one of the driving forces of healthcare. Patient safety is defined as, “ the absence of preventable harm to a patient during the process of healthcare or as the prevention of errors and adverse events caused by the provision of healthcare rather than the patient’s underlying disease process. (Kangasniemi, Vaismoradi, Jasper, &Turunen, 2013)”. It was just as important in the past as it is day. Our healthcare field continues to strive to make improvement toward safer care for patients across the country.