Unit 3: Health, Safety and Security
P1 – Explain potential hazards and the harm that may arise from each in a health or social care setting
HSE stands for Health, Safety and Environment. It is an essential aspect of business management that involves
assessing, regulating and managing all aspects of health, safety and the environment of a particular company
or industry. Health and safety are vital in any organization because it protects the wellbeing of employers,
visitors and customers. Looking after health and safety makes good business sense and builds up a good
reputation. Care homes are often particularly challenging environments due to the vulnerable nature of those
who reside in them, this requires that all health and safety is up to date and regularly checked.
A hazard is any agent that can cause harm or damage to humans, property, or the environment. Risk is
defined as the probability that exposure to a hazard will lead to a negative consequence, or more simply,
a hazard poses no risk if there is no exposure to that hazard. A hazard is a potential source of harm or adverse
health effect on a person. If there was a spill of water in a room then that water would present a slipping
hazard to persons passing through it. Care home residents share air, space, food and equipment, so they also
share organisms that can easily cause infection outbreaks, such as viruses and bacteria. They are also more
prone and vulnerable to infections, which can lead to death. Hazards potentially exist for staff, visitors and
individuals, if care is not taken to reduce risk to a minimum. There are health hazards, safety hazards and
security hazards. A balance is needed, between exposing people to unreasonable risk and over-protecting
them to the extent that they cannot identify dangerous situations. Care homes differ from other workplaces
because they are not only places of work but are home for the residents. It Is therefore important that they
are pleasant places where the freedom and dignity of residents is respected, and where everyone’s health and
safety is effectively managed.
Hazards Category Potential Hazard Example in an HSC Setting Explain the risk to the Service Users / Staff
Physical environment Hazard 1: Poor Poor Ventilation There are many different risks that can arise
– the physical Ventilation Poor ventilation will from the physical environment of a care home.
environment around Hazard 2: Poor increase the spread of Poor ventilation will result in an eventual
you can have a huge Lighting airborne infections such as build-up of carbon dioxide and little oxygen,
impact on the well- colds and influenza, so it Is which means that the service user or staff
being of staff and important to have fresh member could suffer from shortness of breath,
individuals air circulating. However, headaches and fatigue. Research shows that
people should never be in ventilation has a significant impact on several
draught and should always important human outcomes including
be warm enough. communicable respiratory illness, sick building
syndrome symptoms and task performance
Poor Lighting productivity. A ventilation system is needed in
Lighting in rooms should the body in order to obtain oxygen for living
be bright enough and organisms and to get rid of carbon dioxide. It is
positioned to enable also needed to maintain a concentration
people to read and enjoy gradient in the alveoli. High levels of carbon
other activities. dioxide and low levels of oxygen can cause
Emergency lighting, which fatigue and effect the employee’s ability to
comes on if there is a concentrate. Poor lighting in a workplace can
power failure, must be be a safety hazard, misjudgement of the
provided throughout any position, shape or speed of an object can lead
residential or day care to incidents and injuries. Not enough light
P1 – Explain potential hazards and the harm that may arise from each in a health or social care setting
HSE stands for Health, Safety and Environment. It is an essential aspect of business management that involves
assessing, regulating and managing all aspects of health, safety and the environment of a particular company
or industry. Health and safety are vital in any organization because it protects the wellbeing of employers,
visitors and customers. Looking after health and safety makes good business sense and builds up a good
reputation. Care homes are often particularly challenging environments due to the vulnerable nature of those
who reside in them, this requires that all health and safety is up to date and regularly checked.
A hazard is any agent that can cause harm or damage to humans, property, or the environment. Risk is
defined as the probability that exposure to a hazard will lead to a negative consequence, or more simply,
a hazard poses no risk if there is no exposure to that hazard. A hazard is a potential source of harm or adverse
health effect on a person. If there was a spill of water in a room then that water would present a slipping
hazard to persons passing through it. Care home residents share air, space, food and equipment, so they also
share organisms that can easily cause infection outbreaks, such as viruses and bacteria. They are also more
prone and vulnerable to infections, which can lead to death. Hazards potentially exist for staff, visitors and
individuals, if care is not taken to reduce risk to a minimum. There are health hazards, safety hazards and
security hazards. A balance is needed, between exposing people to unreasonable risk and over-protecting
them to the extent that they cannot identify dangerous situations. Care homes differ from other workplaces
because they are not only places of work but are home for the residents. It Is therefore important that they
are pleasant places where the freedom and dignity of residents is respected, and where everyone’s health and
safety is effectively managed.
Hazards Category Potential Hazard Example in an HSC Setting Explain the risk to the Service Users / Staff
Physical environment Hazard 1: Poor Poor Ventilation There are many different risks that can arise
– the physical Ventilation Poor ventilation will from the physical environment of a care home.
environment around Hazard 2: Poor increase the spread of Poor ventilation will result in an eventual
you can have a huge Lighting airborne infections such as build-up of carbon dioxide and little oxygen,
impact on the well- colds and influenza, so it Is which means that the service user or staff
being of staff and important to have fresh member could suffer from shortness of breath,
individuals air circulating. However, headaches and fatigue. Research shows that
people should never be in ventilation has a significant impact on several
draught and should always important human outcomes including
be warm enough. communicable respiratory illness, sick building
syndrome symptoms and task performance
Poor Lighting productivity. A ventilation system is needed in
Lighting in rooms should the body in order to obtain oxygen for living
be bright enough and organisms and to get rid of carbon dioxide. It is
positioned to enable also needed to maintain a concentration
people to read and enjoy gradient in the alveoli. High levels of carbon
other activities. dioxide and low levels of oxygen can cause
Emergency lighting, which fatigue and effect the employee’s ability to
comes on if there is a concentrate. Poor lighting in a workplace can
power failure, must be be a safety hazard, misjudgement of the
provided throughout any position, shape or speed of an object can lead
residential or day care to incidents and injuries. Not enough light
