LO1 Flashcards
4 main impacts of hazards:
- Injury or harm
- Illness
- Poor standards of care
- Financial loss
Impacts of hazards on employees
Staff in care settings may develop mental illnesses e.g. depression/stress
Physical impacts like high blood pressure if their work is excessive.
They may sustain back injuries if they aren’t properly trained in manual handling
Impacts of hazards on the employer
Could face serious consequences such as being taken to court, being fined or closed down.
For example if a person is seriously injured due to a hoist being worn down.
Can also result in the care setting getting a bad reputation/failing an inspection
Impacts of hazards on individuals who require care and support
The individuals may not receive adequate care if the staff don’t have enough time to do their job properly if there are staff shortages etc or because of lack of training
Staff who don’t maintain high standards of of hygiene can cause infections to spread among individuals such as coughs/colds/serious infections like MRSA
Individual could experience financial loss if their personal belongings are stolen or damaged while using a care service
Intentional abuse
This type of abuse is deliberate.
For example:
- theft
- verbal abuse
- financial abuse
- sexual abuse
- physical abuse
Unintentional abuse
This type of abuse can be caused by careless approach to tasks by lack of training to do a task correctly or as a result of neglect
For example:
- Poor care of hospital patient leading to pressure sores
- Nursing home resident suffering from dehydration due to their fluid intake not being monitored
Possible effects for abusers in care environments
- Having to be retrained
- Disciplinary action
- Suspension
- Dismissal
- Being sued for negligence ~ financial loss
- Criminal prosecution
- Imprisonment
- Loss of professional status/being barred
Possible effects on the individuals being abused
- Anger
- Anxiety
- Denial
- Depression
- Disempowerment
- Embarrassment
- Feeling betrayed
- Financial hardship
- Injury
- Loss of trust
- Loss of self-esteem/self confidence
Safeguarding
Means the measures to protect people’s health, wellbeing and rights enabling them to be kept safe from harm, abuse and neglect.
Safeguarding children involves:
Protecting child from maltreatment - physical, emotional, psychological abuse
Preventing impairment of children’s health and development - physical health and wellbeing, education
Ensuring children grow up in a stable home with the provision of safe and effective care - removal from neglect, or unstable and chaotic family life
Taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes - provision of support for the family, fostering or adoption
Common safeguarding issues in adult care environments
Maladministration of medication - incorrect, late or inappropriate medication e.g. sedatives
Pressure sores - individuals who are frail with limited mobility are at risk of developing sores on the points of their body that receive the most pressure. If untreated can become deep and infected
Falls - residents not assessed on their risk of falls, walking aids not provided
Rough treatment - being rushed, shouted at or ignored
Poor nutritional care - religious/dietary needs, inappropriate food given to those with swallowing problems. Result in malnutrition
Disclosure and Barring Service - DBS
This is a check for individuals 16 or over who have a job which works with children or vulnerable adults. It also applies to foster carers and adopters.
A DBS check ensures that the individual is safe to work/volunteer with children/vulnerable adults
The 3 types of DBS check:
Standard - checks for criminal convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings
Enhanced - an additional check of any information held by the police that is relevant to the role being applied for
Enhanced with list checks - additionally checks the Barred List
The Barred List is a list of individuals who are on record as being unsuitable for working with children or vulnerable adults. This means they aren’t allowed to do any of this kind of work
Reasons for carrying out a risk assessment
- It is a legal requirement under the Health and Safety at Work Act. The written record provides evidence that the risk assessments have been carried out
- Staff, users and visitors have the right to be protected and kept safe from harm
- Assessments check what could cause harm on people using the care setting
- Assessments prevent accidents, illness and danger
- Staff, service users and visitors will feel confident using the service knowing that risk assessments are carried out
The purpose of a risk assessment
- To check that equipment is safe and fit for purpose
- To ensure that the care setting building itself is safe
- To identify potential dangers e.g. trip hazards, risky activities
- To work out what could go wrong in an activity
- To assess how much supervision is needed
- To identify ways of controlling and minimising risks
- To ensure any planned trips or visits are safe to proceed
