Kisenyi Mukalere
31/3/23
Safeguarding Matters
Unit 7 - Task 2: Principles of Safe Practice in Health and Social
Care
This information pack will focus on justifying the effectiveness of health and
safety legislation as well as policies and procedures when it comes to the
maintenance of health and safety within a social care setting such as a drop-
in centre. This information pack will also evaluate the importance of safe
practice principles when it comes to the maintenance and promotion of
health, safety and welfare of the service users within a drop-in centre.
There are different health and safety legislations, policies and procedures
which can have a significant positive impact on the maintenance of health
and safety within the Beeches drop-in centre. Legislations are a set of laws
that have been passed by a legislative body of government such as
parliament (UK Parliament, n.d.) failure to comply and adhere to legislation
can lead to consequences for both individuals and organisations such as
fines and imprisonment (www.hse.gov.uk, n.d.). One legislation that can help to
maintain health and safety within the centre would be the Health and Safety
at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). This legislation gives employers a legal duty to
ensure that they are promoting, maintaining and protecting the safety, health
and welfare of their employees and the general public. This is one of the most
important legislations as it can significantly aid the maintenance of health
and safety within the Beeches drop-in centre in a multitude of ways. It also lays
out the responsibilities of employees to themselves and each other. It is laid
out that this can be done through risk assessments which identify hazards,
identifying the magnitude of the corresponding risks, prevention and control
and through the management of staff (HSE, 2022). However, this is partly not
being done as the staff at the Beeches drop-in centre have no records of the
accidents and incidents that occur within the centre, which means they are
not promoting health and safety due to the fact that record keeping has the
potential to establish practices that can prevent abuse and neglect. The
nurse and social worker have also left the back yard fire doors locked, which
means that in the event of a fire, service users cannot escape through those
doors, which can lead to fatalities. The staff have made an attempt to promote
health and safety by asking those under the influence of alcohol to leave the
premises, but this has proven to be ineffective as offenders remain outside,
harassing others. The employer in this case needs to establish appropriate
policies and procedures for both reporting accidents and incidents as well as
how to deal with offenders, the employer also needs to ensure that these
policies and procedures are adhered to. Although this legislation is not being
followed in its entirety which reduces its effectiveness when it comes to
promoting safe practice within the centre, this legislation is still important as if
the staff were to adhere to the HASAWA they would be able to have a clear
idea and understanding of their roles and responsibilities when it comes to
, keeping themselves safe and allow them to have a way in which they can
assess risks and thus decrease the chances of either them or the service users
experiencing harm.
Another legislation that could help to maintain health and safety within the
centre could be the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous
Occurrences Regulations 2013 legislation (RIDDOR). Unlike the HASAWA,
RIDDOR is more focused on the
recording and reporting of injuries,
diseases and dangerous
occurrences. This legislation states
that deaths, injuries such as
fractures that are not of the fingers,
thumbs or toes, burns,
incapacitations of workers and non-
fatal accidents to members of the
public must be recorded and or
reported (HSE, 2013). This legislation
shares a similarity with the HASAWA
as some hazards can be identified through records and reports which then
allows the hazards to be mitigated. RIDDOR lays out an employers duty to
ensure that workplace accidents, including near misses are recorded and
reported when necessary. Although, it is important to note that this is
evidently not being done within the Beeches drop-in centre as the incidents
and accidents book has been lost and not replaced, this can greatly
negatively impact health and safety practices within the Beeches drop-in
centre. This is because it prevents such incidents from being monitored which
means that failures within the current practice of the centre cannot be
identified, which can then lead to more serious accidents and or incidents
occurring which can be fatal. The employer in this case needs to replace the
incidents and accidents book and reinstate policies and procedures that help
the nurse, social worker and volunteers to adhere to this legislation. Although
this legislation is not proving to be effective within the drop-in centre, this is
due to a lack of adherence, RIDDOR can still be extremely beneficial when it
comes to promoting safe practice within the Beeches drop-in centre as if it is
followed correctly, the employer would have to provide and implement
effective policies and procedures that will enable to staff to take accurate
records which allows the potential for patterns of failings in safeguarding to
be identified and corrected, promoting the safety of service users and staff.
31/3/23
Safeguarding Matters
Unit 7 - Task 2: Principles of Safe Practice in Health and Social
Care
This information pack will focus on justifying the effectiveness of health and
safety legislation as well as policies and procedures when it comes to the
maintenance of health and safety within a social care setting such as a drop-
in centre. This information pack will also evaluate the importance of safe
practice principles when it comes to the maintenance and promotion of
health, safety and welfare of the service users within a drop-in centre.
There are different health and safety legislations, policies and procedures
which can have a significant positive impact on the maintenance of health
and safety within the Beeches drop-in centre. Legislations are a set of laws
that have been passed by a legislative body of government such as
parliament (UK Parliament, n.d.) failure to comply and adhere to legislation
can lead to consequences for both individuals and organisations such as
fines and imprisonment (www.hse.gov.uk, n.d.). One legislation that can help to
maintain health and safety within the centre would be the Health and Safety
at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA). This legislation gives employers a legal duty to
ensure that they are promoting, maintaining and protecting the safety, health
and welfare of their employees and the general public. This is one of the most
important legislations as it can significantly aid the maintenance of health
and safety within the Beeches drop-in centre in a multitude of ways. It also lays
out the responsibilities of employees to themselves and each other. It is laid
out that this can be done through risk assessments which identify hazards,
identifying the magnitude of the corresponding risks, prevention and control
and through the management of staff (HSE, 2022). However, this is partly not
being done as the staff at the Beeches drop-in centre have no records of the
accidents and incidents that occur within the centre, which means they are
not promoting health and safety due to the fact that record keeping has the
potential to establish practices that can prevent abuse and neglect. The
nurse and social worker have also left the back yard fire doors locked, which
means that in the event of a fire, service users cannot escape through those
doors, which can lead to fatalities. The staff have made an attempt to promote
health and safety by asking those under the influence of alcohol to leave the
premises, but this has proven to be ineffective as offenders remain outside,
harassing others. The employer in this case needs to establish appropriate
policies and procedures for both reporting accidents and incidents as well as
how to deal with offenders, the employer also needs to ensure that these
policies and procedures are adhered to. Although this legislation is not being
followed in its entirety which reduces its effectiveness when it comes to
promoting safe practice within the centre, this legislation is still important as if
the staff were to adhere to the HASAWA they would be able to have a clear
idea and understanding of their roles and responsibilities when it comes to
, keeping themselves safe and allow them to have a way in which they can
assess risks and thus decrease the chances of either them or the service users
experiencing harm.
Another legislation that could help to maintain health and safety within the
centre could be the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous
Occurrences Regulations 2013 legislation (RIDDOR). Unlike the HASAWA,
RIDDOR is more focused on the
recording and reporting of injuries,
diseases and dangerous
occurrences. This legislation states
that deaths, injuries such as
fractures that are not of the fingers,
thumbs or toes, burns,
incapacitations of workers and non-
fatal accidents to members of the
public must be recorded and or
reported (HSE, 2013). This legislation
shares a similarity with the HASAWA
as some hazards can be identified through records and reports which then
allows the hazards to be mitigated. RIDDOR lays out an employers duty to
ensure that workplace accidents, including near misses are recorded and
reported when necessary. Although, it is important to note that this is
evidently not being done within the Beeches drop-in centre as the incidents
and accidents book has been lost and not replaced, this can greatly
negatively impact health and safety practices within the Beeches drop-in
centre. This is because it prevents such incidents from being monitored which
means that failures within the current practice of the centre cannot be
identified, which can then lead to more serious accidents and or incidents
occurring which can be fatal. The employer in this case needs to replace the
incidents and accidents book and reinstate policies and procedures that help
the nurse, social worker and volunteers to adhere to this legislation. Although
this legislation is not proving to be effective within the drop-in centre, this is
due to a lack of adherence, RIDDOR can still be extremely beneficial when it
comes to promoting safe practice within the Beeches drop-in centre as if it is
followed correctly, the employer would have to provide and implement
effective policies and procedures that will enable to staff to take accurate
records which allows the potential for patterns of failings in safeguarding to
be identified and corrected, promoting the safety of service users and staff.
