Safeguarding Matters – Assignment 2
Within this information pack, I will be identifying the influences of different health and safety
legislations that are used within a health and social care setting and explaining how they influence
safe practice. Also within this information pack, I will be exploring procedures and responsibilities
that help to maintain health and Safety within a health and social setting.
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASAWA) is a piece of legislation that that covers
occupational health and safety within Great Britain. The legislation was put in place to protect the
‘health, safety and welfare’ of employees and visitors within a workplace setting. HASAWA provides
guidelines for the employers to follow to ensure that their setting is safe for everybody. The
legislations aim to ‘minimise risk within the workplace’ and to keep everybody as safe as possible.
The legislations states that risk assessments must be made to identify what the risks are so that the
employers are able to reduce them.
https://www.naturalhr.com/2018/03/05/health-safety-work-act-1974/
https://hasawa.com/1974-act/health-and-safety-at-work-act-1974/
https://www.inbrief.co.uk/regulations/health-and-safety-at-work-law/
http://www.hse.gov.uk/legislation/hswa.htm
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 have many influences on a care setting and the setting’s
practice. This legislation ensures that the setting have had risk assessments and that a safe working
environment is maintained. Risk assessments are important as they ‘form an integral part of an
occupational health and safety management plan’. Risk assessments help to create awareness of any
hazards and risks and to identify what needs to be done to reduce these. A management plan would
then be created as a way for staff members to know what risks have been identifies and how they
are being fixed. This influence that the legislation has on the setting would ensure that the staff,
service users and visitors are a lot safer when they are at the setting. After the risk assessments have
been made and the risks have been reduced, the staff would feel safer and their work would
improve meaning that they would be able to provide better care for the service users.
Another influence that this legislation has on a health and social care setting and the setting’s
practices is that it provides confidence and reassurance for families and visitors. This means that
when the legislation is put in place within the setting, that everybody who attends the setting would
feel safer and have the confidence that nothing will happen to put them in danger. If families and
visitors were worried that there were risks and that the setting was not a safe environment, they
may decide to remove the service users from the setting. If the setting didn’t have many service
users, they could be forced to shut down. However, if families and visitors did have the reassurance
and feel more confident with the safety of the service, the service would keep their service users and
not need to close. If the family have reassurance and confidence that the setting is safe, the staff are
more likely to think that the setting is safe so they would provide the best care possible for the
service users.
Meeting legal and regulatory requirements is another influence that Health and Safety at Work Act
1974 has on a health and social care setting and the setting’s practices. An example of a legal
requirement is to keep accurate records. These records could be about the service users and about
the staff members and about how safe everybody is. Within HASAWA, the employers have a duty to
maintain a safe environment and to report any incidents and accidents that could affect the safety of
people within the service. These records have to be accurate otherwise, the setting would be a
danger to the individuals who are within the setting. Also, if in the future another incident happens,
causing harm to somebody within the setting, the accurate records could be used to identify if the
incident has happened fore and to determine what caused the incident.
Within this information pack, I will be identifying the influences of different health and safety
legislations that are used within a health and social care setting and explaining how they influence
safe practice. Also within this information pack, I will be exploring procedures and responsibilities
that help to maintain health and Safety within a health and social setting.
Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASAWA) is a piece of legislation that that covers
occupational health and safety within Great Britain. The legislation was put in place to protect the
‘health, safety and welfare’ of employees and visitors within a workplace setting. HASAWA provides
guidelines for the employers to follow to ensure that their setting is safe for everybody. The
legislations aim to ‘minimise risk within the workplace’ and to keep everybody as safe as possible.
The legislations states that risk assessments must be made to identify what the risks are so that the
employers are able to reduce them.
https://www.naturalhr.com/2018/03/05/health-safety-work-act-1974/
https://hasawa.com/1974-act/health-and-safety-at-work-act-1974/
https://www.inbrief.co.uk/regulations/health-and-safety-at-work-law/
http://www.hse.gov.uk/legislation/hswa.htm
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 have many influences on a care setting and the setting’s
practice. This legislation ensures that the setting have had risk assessments and that a safe working
environment is maintained. Risk assessments are important as they ‘form an integral part of an
occupational health and safety management plan’. Risk assessments help to create awareness of any
hazards and risks and to identify what needs to be done to reduce these. A management plan would
then be created as a way for staff members to know what risks have been identifies and how they
are being fixed. This influence that the legislation has on the setting would ensure that the staff,
service users and visitors are a lot safer when they are at the setting. After the risk assessments have
been made and the risks have been reduced, the staff would feel safer and their work would
improve meaning that they would be able to provide better care for the service users.
Another influence that this legislation has on a health and social care setting and the setting’s
practices is that it provides confidence and reassurance for families and visitors. This means that
when the legislation is put in place within the setting, that everybody who attends the setting would
feel safer and have the confidence that nothing will happen to put them in danger. If families and
visitors were worried that there were risks and that the setting was not a safe environment, they
may decide to remove the service users from the setting. If the setting didn’t have many service
users, they could be forced to shut down. However, if families and visitors did have the reassurance
and feel more confident with the safety of the service, the service would keep their service users and
not need to close. If the family have reassurance and confidence that the setting is safe, the staff are
more likely to think that the setting is safe so they would provide the best care possible for the
service users.
Meeting legal and regulatory requirements is another influence that Health and Safety at Work Act
1974 has on a health and social care setting and the setting’s practices. An example of a legal
requirement is to keep accurate records. These records could be about the service users and about
the staff members and about how safe everybody is. Within HASAWA, the employers have a duty to
maintain a safe environment and to report any incidents and accidents that could affect the safety of
people within the service. These records have to be accurate otherwise, the setting would be a
danger to the individuals who are within the setting. Also, if in the future another incident happens,
causing harm to somebody within the setting, the accurate records could be used to identify if the
incident has happened fore and to determine what caused the incident.
