Lecture notes Contexts of Care (SHN169)

SHN169 – Making a Safe Environment


Making and Maintaining a Safe Environment

Learning Outcomes
 To have an awareness of safety requirements within all care settings for CYP
 To identify the safety needs for specific CYP according to their age, development
stage or condition
 To be able to safely equip a bed space for a CYP

What comes to mend when you think of maintaining a safe environment for children in
your care?
 Parents/Carers – can’t rely on them to maintain a safe environment (entirely) when
their child is in your care; in a hospital setting
 Other Children – their parents

Group Activity 1
 Things to consider:
o Consider the safety issues in your environment whether good or potentially
harmful.
o Is there anything else that can be added to help prevent against
unintentional injuries?
o Who else do you need to consider in this environment?
o What other potential harm could occur here?
o Would age and development be a factor here?
 Areas
o Children’s Ward
 Things that could be improved
 Bed Rails are down (but bed not currently being used)
 Cluttered
 Unclear whether there are blind ties
 Need to consider the parents/carers, visitors as well as staff
working
 Hand Sanitiser within easy reach of the child (could view it as a
toy)
 Curtains are a potential hazard
 Things that a good
 Open ward so staff can see everything easily (provided the
curtains aren’t closed
o High Dependency Unit (located off the side of a ward)
 Things that could be improved
 Quite messy – cluttered
o Trip hazard for anyone entering the room
 Parent’s/Carers – other family members e.g. younger/older
siblings
 Wires/equipment hanging down – easy to pull and/or get
tangled up in
 Can’t tell whether there is a blind cord
 Things that are positive

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, SHN169 – Making a Safe Environment


 Monitor is up high
 Wipes are also placed up high
o Emergency Department (for adults and children)
 Things that could be improved
 As it is for mixed use it is quite dull and not interesting to
children
 Potential risk of car seat on the trolley – risk that the father
might think it is safe/appropriate to place the child in there
when he needs to rest his arms
 It is a very busy and therefore potential area just by its very
nature
 Potential other safety issues
 Mix of adults and other patients coming and going – various
illnesses; conditions; ages; sexes
 Other siblings wandering around board
o Health Visitor Clinic
 Potential Safety Issues
 Very small space – difficult to work in that area especially with
the presence of parent/carer and potentially siblings and also
potentially more than one baby (twins/triplets etc.)
 Things that could be improved
 No sign of hand sanitiser; wipes etc. – infection control risk
 No toys available in case a distraction is needed for older
siblings
o Child’s Home
 Things that could be improved
 Removal of cleaning products from accessible areas
 Handbag on table
 Loose change
 Fireguard but it is a metal one which means it would get hot
 Iron – regardless of whether on or off posses a risk as it has a
cord attached
 TV Stand looks like a climbing frame
 Safety Issue
 Child left unsupervised in the area
o Children’s Outpatients Department
 Things that are good
 Open Plan so able to see everyone
 Suitable for children
 Things that could be improved
 As open plan and organised in such a way there is not much
opportunity for privacy – and as Outpatients department there
is the potential for there to be lots of people going back and
fore
o Children Wards now have secure doors – why hasn’t
this been done for outpatients?
 Not entirely appropriate for older children/teens

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