A3 - Specific responsibilities of people who work in health and social care settings Flashcards
What is the Data Protection Act 1998?
It controls how personal information is used by organisation, ensuring that any personal information is protected and kept confidential.
How can data be kept confidential?
- Applying requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998
- Specified code of practice to protect data.
- Securing data with a strong lock and key or a strong password with limited access
- Ensuring that only those who needs the information is only able to access it and only relavent information is given.
- Information should only be used for the purpose it was given for.
What is the Equality Act 2010?
It makes it illegal to discriminate against people based on the protected characteristics.
What are the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010?
- Age
- Disability
- Gender reassignment status
- Sex
- Marriage/civil partnership status
- Sexual orientation
- Race
- Religion
- Pregnancy
What is the Human Rights Act 1998?
It is a law that states that people must be treated fairly an with dignity. It promotes a set of basic freedoms and rights that all people are considered to have, including freedom from degrading treatment, access to education, the right to life, and respect for private/family life.
How do you promote anti-discriminatory practice?
By ensuring that professionals follow the Equality Act 2010 and Human Rights Act 1998 giving equal opportunities and that any prejudice is actively challenged.
How can service users be empowered?
- Promote choice, dignity, and independence
- Support someone’s needs. beliefs, and cultural preferences
- Support service users to express themselves eg. their preferences and needs
- Handling any conflict such as challenging behaviour.
- Promoting individualised care
- Promoting and supporting the rights, choices, and wellbeing of the service user.
What is the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974?
It outlines the responsibilities of employers to make the workplace safe. However, the employees also have responsibilities to ensure their own safety.
Employers:
- Provide CPD and appropriate training
- Carrying out risk assessments
- Provide protective equipment
- Consult employees on health and safety issues
- Ensuring that machinery and devices are fit for purpose
Employees:
- Follow the policies and procedures that the organisation has set out
- Report risks/hazards immediately
- Take reasonable care of their health and safety in the workplace as well as others
What is a risk assessment?
It identifies hazards and put in strategies to reduce any risks.
What are the steps of a risk assessment?
- Identify potential hazards
- Identify who is at risk
- Assess level of risk and rate it between 1-4. 1 being unlikely and 4 being high.
- Identify ways to limit the risk
- Review ways to limit risk
What are safeguarding policies?
It is a policy put in place to prevent harm, abuse and neglect to service users. If outlines what should be done if abuse is suspected or disclosed.
What is a safeguarding officer?
It is an individual appointed to the role to ensure that all staff and service user is safeguarded. They also ensure that the correct safeguarding policy is put in place.
What are complaint procedures?
It is for handling complaints so services can be improved with feedback. The complainant has the right for their complaint to be investigated and investigated. Actions may follow up and the person who complained should be updated.
What actions should health and social care professionals take to prevent illnesses?
- Effective handwashing
- Provision of safe drinking water
- Using colour-coded cleaning equipment for different areas
- Using gloves and aprons
What is COSHH? (control of substances harmful to health)
It highlights that cleaning materials should be safely stored, and hazardous materials need to be disposed of correctly to prevent harm and infection.
