Policies And Procedures Flashcards
What is a policy?
Plan that outlines the policy purpose and the instructions for carrying out the necessary actions to achieve its aim of keeping service users safe and promoting their rights
Ensure care settings comply with th requirements of legislation
Procedures provde step by step guide on how to complete a task or implement policy
Fire safety policy
Every care setting is required by law to have a fire emergency evacuation plan
Fire exits and escape routes kept clear
Care settings have regular fire drills and fire alarms should be tested regulrly to check they are working
What is Asbestos?
Found in any building built before the year 2000, causes around 5000 deths every year
Materials that contain asbestos are disturbed or damaged fibres arfe released into the air, when inhaled can cause serious diseases such as lung cancer
Anyone who owns a building is responsible for the maintenance of premise has duty to manage asbestos in the building
Duty to manage asbestos responsibilities
Find out if asbestos is present
Make a record of the location, type and condition of asbestos
Assess the risk of anyone being exposed to the asbestos
Prepare plan to manage the risks
Put plan into action, monitor and keep it updated
Provide this info to anyone who might work on or disturb the asbestos
Transport policies
Covers the maintenance and safety of vehicles used eg. minibus used for school trips or taking residents on an outing and reassessing risk assessments procedures
Transport procedures to follow
Appropriate insurance, driver lisenced to drive vehicle with passesngers
Sat belts fitted and working
Parental consent forms for school/ nursery trips
How does implementation of policies and procedures improve Health and safety management systems?
Leadership and the setting of standards by management
Trained employees
A trusting and supporitng environment
Understanding if the risks specific to a particular workplace
How does the implementation of policies and procedures impact workplace hazards and risk controls?
Helps avoid injuries, illnesses and incidents
Minimise/eliminate health and safety risks
Safe and healthy working conditions
Reasons for risk assessments
Legal requiremtn under HASAWA, written records provide evidence of risk assessments being carried out
Staff, service users and visitors have a right to be protected and kept safe from harm
Check what could cause harm to people using the care setting
Prevent accidents, illnesses and danger
Purpose of risk assessment
Check equipment is safe and fit for purpose
Identify potential dangers eg. trip hazards
Work out what could go wrong with an activity
Assess what supervision is needed
What are the five steps of carrying out a risk assessment?
1) Look for hazards associated with the activity
2) Identify who might have been harmed and how
3) Consider the level of risk
4) Make a written record of findings
5) Review risk assessments regularly and improve precautions or control measures if necessary
What is electrical safety?
Electrical appliances belonging to care settings and residents need to be maintained and checked for safety
Good practice guidance when using electrical appliances
Electrical safety policies and procedures
Portable electrical equipment should be tested regularly (PAT testing) depending hwo frequently it’s used
Staff make frequent visual checks for:
-damage to cables#
- damage to plugs
- broken socket covers
Safeguarding policy
All care environments must have safeguarding procedures in place, must have namd person responsible for safeguarding, all staff and service users should be aware of procdures to follow to report safeguarding issues
Safguarding policies and procedures
All staff must be DBS checked
All staff must hav safeguarding training
All staff must know potential indicators of abuse
Rporting system exists for concerns of abuse
Food safety policy
Essential care settings have food hygiene policies and procedures to protect at risk individuals and to comply with food safty legislation
Food hygiene procedures
Ensure all work surfaces and equipment are clean before preparing food
Cln surfaces with hot water and anti-bac washing up liquid then anti- bac spray
Wash fruit and vegetables before use
Check use by dates
Chemical and biological health hazards policy
Care settings have a policy for dealing with hazardous substances and waste
Stff will have training and agreed ways of working for handling hazardous substances following COSHH guidelins
What are examples of chemical and biological health hazards?
Cleaning materials
Disinfectants
Bodily fluids
Medication
Clinical waste such as dressings
Contaminated clothing
Disposing of clinical waste and dressings
Yellow bags/ burnt/ incinderated
Disposing of body fluids, urine, faeces
Flushed down toilet
Disposing of medication, out fo date or no longer required
Taken to local pharmacy or GP surgry
Disposing of needles, sharps and syringes
Yellow sharps box or contact local council to collect
Disposing of spoiled linen
Red bags put directly into the washing machine; bags dissolve, wash at high temp
Storage and dispensing of medicine policy
Should be a medicines policy and clear procedures giving correct ways of working for employers to follow, only stff who have completed appropriate training can give medication
Lone working policy
Individuals who work in the community in a separate location ot their team or manager eg. social workers, personal care staff
Enables safe systems to be developed by helping staff identify the risks and consider appropriate ways to reduce those risks
Includes incident reporting, helps to establish what the problems are to develop appropriate prevention masures
Key risks of lone working
Satff oftn required to work all hours including late nights
Social workrs take children away from their home, highly intense and emotional experience for parents, chilren and social workers
Personal care staff can be mistaken for health visitors carrying drugs and may be attacked
Procedures for safe lone working
Carrying a personal alarm
Carrying a basic mobile phone
Take self defence training
Security of premises, possessions and individuals policy
Necessary to keep staff and service users safe from intruders by preventing unauthorised individuals who may be violent or steal individuals possessions from entering the care settings
Necessary to prevent vulnerable individuals from leaving the care setting unsupervised will also ensure the setting complies with health and safety legislation
Security procedures
Staff wearing ID lanyards
Locking external doors and gates
CCTV monitoring external entrances
Reasons for reviewing policies and procdures
Ensure they reflect any chnags in legislation
Keep them up to date
Check they ar being implemented effectively
