LO2: Legislation Flashcards
What is legislation?
Legislation is in place to ensure everyone’s health, safety and security is safeguarded. This includes all who live, work in and even visit HSC settings.
10 types of Legislation
- Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- Food Safety Act 1990
- Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995
- Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
- Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Regulations (RIDDOR) 2013
- Data Protection Act 1998
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) 2002
- Civil Contingences Act 2004
- The Health and Social Care (Safety and Quality) Act 2015
Safeguarding
Safeguarding children and adults from harm and abuse is everyone’s responsibility. The actions taken by professionals can help ensure safe and effective care.
Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS)
The DBS works closely with the police to safeguard and protect adults and children from harm and abuse by preventing unsuitable people from working with vulnerable adults and children. This is done by:
- Processing requests for criminal record checks by searching police records and barred lists information.
- Deciding whether it is appropriate for a person to be placed on or be removed from a barred list.
- Placing people on the DBS children’s barred list and adults barred list for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
A DBS can be requested by an employer for an applicant wishing to work in HSC settings or when looking to adopt or foster a child. Applicants must be aged over 16 years of age and it can take up to 8 weeks to complete. It does not expire and can be renewed, after being checked for any updates. There are three types of DBS: 1. Standard, 2. Enhanced, 3. Enhanced with list checks.
Standard DBS
This checks for spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings.
Enhanced DBS
This includes the same as the standard check as well as any additional information held by the local police that’s considered relevant to the role being applied for.
Enhanced with list checks
This includes the same as the enhanced check as well as a check of the DBS barred lists - a list of individuals held by the DBS who are unsuitable for working with children and/or adults.
Influences of Legislation
Ensures that the setting have the number of staff that they need, correct supervision and training of staff and that the environment is safe. This is essential for individuals to be safe and secure.
Influences on staff: Legislation promotes safe staffing levels, effective supervision, instruction and training of staff.
Influences on premises:
Legislation impacts maintenance of premises, ensuring cleanliness for infection prevention and control. Suitable and sufficient ventilation and lighting ensures safe working conditions. Hand washing facilities and cleaning and drying materials must be kept in good condition to ensure staff’s personal hygiene.
Influences on practices:
Legislation promotes and encourages good personal hygiene, wearing protective equipment, safe removal of storage and waste and correct recording and storing of information.
Implementation of policies and procedures
Policies are a statement of how your organisation will conduct its services. Procedures are how policies will be put into practice.
Policies and procedures ensure that legislation is implemented in work settings to promote health, safety and security. Policies and procedures will be implemented in different ways in different work settings.
Policies and Procedures
- Health and Safety
- Risk Assessment
- Fire Evacuation
- Safeguarding
- Reporting of Accidents
- Food safety
- Cleaning
- Disposal of Hazardous Wastes
- Lone Working
- Storage and Dispensing of Medicines
- Security of Premises, Possessions and Individuals
Lone Working
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), a Lone Worker is “those who work by themselves without close or direct supervision”. For example, community midwives, professionals based at home, out of hours clinicians, home visit professionals.
Examples of incidents within Lone Working
- During a parenting class, a drunken male became very disruptive and sarcastic. This made the midwife feel nervous and at risk.
- Teenagers throwing stones and threatening midwives while travelling between clients.
- A client became abusive when asked to turn off a mobile telephone during a parenting class.
- On one occasion a midwife was held hostage, but this kind of incident is very rare.
Review of Policies and Procedures
Policies and procedures must be reviewed regularly to ensure that they reflect any changes that are made to legislation, an organisation’s needs and aims, individuals’ existing needs or the development of a new need. It is good practice to date and number policies and procedures once they are reviewed and updated; in addition there should be a system in place for regularly reviewing these, including planned review dates and how any changes will be communicated. This allows the updated versions to be easily accessible.
Policies and procedures will only be effective if they contain up-to-date information and reflect safe working practices that staff can follow and comply with. Not complying with these can have serious consequences for employees, employers and organisations. Employees may be asked to attend further training, closer monitoring and/or supervision of their activities or face disciplinary action. Employers may be liable to imprisonment and organisations may be liable to fines and closure.
