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Caring for people in need is a noble duty that care homes are performing from a long time. It is a sector that encourages well-being of one and all. A care home comprises of people like owner, manager, staff and the people residing within that environment. A care home may be of various kinds – residential care, nursing care or dementia care and one for the older adults. Each requires a different health and safety policy for care homes with specific requirements.
It is a kind of health program that excels in providing a resource for concerned personnel inside the care home setting. The main implications it includes are-
- Legal duties
Out of the various laws that govern health and safety regulations in a workplace, the most applicable ones are-
- Health and safety at work act 1974
- Common law
- Reporting of injuries diseases and dangerous occurrences regulations
- Control of substances hazardous to health
- Management of health and safety at work regulations 1999
The above acts enable employers to perform their duties of ensuring a safe and secure working environment. It involves all the diseases caused by biological perils, drug exposures, bloodborne pathogens, respiratory complications along with workplace violence.
- Facilities
The policy also encloses the various healthcare facilities that an organization issues to its employees in adequate quantity. The welfare arrangements also include safe handling and proper storage of potentially hazardous substances.
- Training
Another most important part of a policy is providing information training with specific guidelines to employees under expert supervision. The training also acknowledges employees’ efforts by certifying them with liability insurance.
- Guidelines
The set of rules that are sketched for an employee also make him realize his duties to take reasonable care of each other’s health. Also, the basic guidelines that one needs to follow while working in a care home are-
- Be attentive
While inside a care home, one needs to dedicate one’s full attention to providing a danger-free environment. One small or normal careless attitude like rugs or slippery surfaces can cost as one huge mistake to both caretakers and residents.
Also, mind the pets and make sure they are at safer distances from any ill person as their presence can make the conditions severe. It has been reported that half of the in-house accidents occur due to silly mistakes and carelessness. Hence, all the employees should take notes on how to organize the environment with proper safety.
- Emergency services
The care providers also need to have complete knowledge about the contact details of nearby emergency help providers like police, fire or ambulance. They must be aware of the safety profile of the neighbourhood and should stay alert while witnessing any suspicious activity in the immediate location.
- Documentation
Recording the history of each person’s medical issues is also one of the major characteristics of a health and safety policy. A caretaker should also be in his finest health to able to ensure welfare to other people, and if not so, he or she is certainly not liable for this duty.
- Safety Tools
A caretaker also needs to be well aware of how the safety tools function and ways to operate them. A very common notion about healthcare sectors is that they have the maximum rates of work-related injuries and illnesses. Hence, each worker should be aware of how to handle the critical conditions without losing his composure.
A caretaker working in a care home for elderly often complain of back pain as he constantly needs to lift and move older people. This results in muscular as well as skeletal hazards along with other stress-inducing factors.
The healthcare and social welfare industry draws huge benefits from the safety policies and has prime necessity in each sector. Hence, knowing about the implications that an employee has to dedicate his assistance to will make him realize his duties and responsibilities in a refurnished way.
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Source by Albert Cook
