Outline the Main Factors of Current Health and Safety Legislation as Applied in Health and Social Care.

How legislation, policies and procedures relate to health, safety and security in a health and social care setting and how legislation, policies and procedures promote safety of individuals in a health and social care setting.

M1) Describe how health and safety legislation, policies and procedures promote of individuals in a health or social care setting

M1 – I am also going to describe how health and safety legislation, policies and procedures promote the safety of individuals in a health or social care setting.

Describe how current health and safety legislation, policies and procedures are implemented in the setting.

1. Identify legislation relating to general health and safety in a health or social care work setting.

There are laws and legal regulations about infection prevention and control. Most of the legal regulations relating to infection prevention and control come under the Health and Safety at Work Act; this act is about ensuring a safe work place for employers, employees and members of the public by minimising accidents at work. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations introduced the need for monitoring health and safety and risk assessment; including infection prevention and control. The Food Safety Act was brought in to ensure safe practices for food to avoid contamination and spreading of infection and includes handling, storing and disposal of food.

Canada’s food safety system is globally recognized as one of the safest system, because we believe food safety is the responsibility of everyone in the food environment. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is responsible for food safety at federal level. CFIA impose food safety and nutritional standards set by Health Canada. Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC) is responsible for protecting the health of Ontarians. Canadian government make every effort to protect the population from health hazards and food borne illness. The Health Protection and Promotion Act (HPPA) is the main piece of legislation outlining the important hazard reduction steps. The HPPA authorizes the Ontario Public Health Standards (OPHS) which are functional in their individual protocol. The Food Safety Protocol, 2015 describe the specific requirements that each health unit must follow in order to prevent and reduce foodborne illness. Each premises must undergo a risk assessment that evaluate hazard and level of risk.

Food is an essential constituent in human life. Nevertheless, some foods can be detrimental to a person’s organism by causing life-threatening diseases. For that reason, food safety comes into play. Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling,

Food safety tends to be a hot topic in Food safety these years. Though the meaning is similar, different from food security, food safety concentrates more on health aspects rather than sufficiency. So what is food safety? “Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness.” (AmercianPeanutCouncil, 2014) This prevents civils from severe health hazards and in this way is the food safety similar to the definition of food defense.

The Food Hygiene, Health and Safety Act provides food hygiene regulations for people who work in the hospitality industry it reviews the legislation which regulate hygiene, health & safety practices. The Chefs role in the safe preparation and service of food is critical and the law states that a food handler has a legal responsibility to ensure that food is maintained in a hygienic & safe manner.

Food safety hazards are biological, physical and chemical agents in food that have the potential to incur harm or cause illness after human consumption due to absence of agents’ control (Combellack, 2009) (NSW Department of Education and Communities, and Charles Sturt University, 2014). It can happen in any point of the food production chain. In UK, Food standard agency takes charge in ensuring all parts of UK food are maintain with safety and hygiene (Crown, n.d.).

As there were many foodborne outbreaks noted in New Zealand, government has set some strict food safety laws and regulations in the country. According to the report from New Zealand food safety authority; people who manufacture, handle, prepare or sell food from any mobile food stall are subject to food safety laws and regulations. It is illegal to sell food which is not safe which can cause illness to the customer. Food stalls and mobile food truck should have food and safety licence to operate so that the local health department can track the truck for inspection and the grades provided to the truck helps to increase the sale of the product and assured customers to eat safe and healthy meal on board. Employees should maintain good personal hygiene (use gloves while handling the food, use hair caps to avoid contamination, work tops and sinks must be kept clean) (New Zealand food safety authority, 2016). This shows that the New Zealand government works hard to control the foodborne outbreaks reported in the country by starting new food safety laws

As Jamaica’s food supply becomes more dynamic and diverse, government policies aimed at preventing contamination and illness have become more important to consumers. Compliance with food safety regulations are becoming very important as consumers become more aware of the dangers associated with consuming contaminated food. Improperly trained employees, substandard products, or poor service as well as non-compliance to food safety laws and regulations can cost companies millions of dollars and damages to their reputations. While the food operator must focus on customer safety, concern must also be directed toward the avoidance of non-compliance towards regulatory standards; as such negative outcomes can be very costly and may also result in sickness or lost of lives.

The study’s report focused on food safety practices to inform the inclusion of important food safety aspects for future public health interventions concerning street food safety.

(i) where is adulterated with the meaning of the Food adulteration Act,1954 sub- clause (m) of clause (ia) of section 2 or misbranded within the meaning of clause (ix) of that section or the sale of which is prohibited under any provision of this Act or any rule made thereunder or by an order of the Food (Health) Authority;