Question :
health and social care organizations are required to adhere to their concerning legislations and policies as their implementation helps in maintaining the right balance between the procedures and operations of the workplace. The project covers the following outcome-
- investigation of legislations relating to health and safety.
- Development of risk assessment form in health and social care sector.
- Investigation of monitoring and reviewing the work of health and social care.
Answer :
INTRODUCTION
The legislation for health and safety is considered to be an important part of the health and social care workplace. It is because; the implementation of these laws and procedures helps in maintaining a balance between different operations and procedures at the workplace (Morgan, Entwistle and Watt, 20170. There are enormous laws, policies and procedures that have been developed and implemented by the government. Some well-known examples of it can include The Health and Safety Act 1974 for ensuring safety of employees at workplace and The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 that restricts any factor associated with racism or discrimination of any person. So, like these, implementation of various other laws in health and social care workplace are important for maintaining efficiency in different processes at workplace. The report is about analysing different legislations and their requirements for a social and health care workplace.
TASK 1
Systems, policies and procedures for communicating information on health and safety
In accordance with the legislative requirements, there are various policies, procedures and systems that can be used for an effective communication of information on health and safety. By the means of various ways, essential factors associated with health and safety can be informed in a health and social care setting. One of the effective ways can be considered as the systems, policies and procedures such as The Health and Safety Act 1974, Food hygiene regulations 2006 Act, Disability discrimination Act 1995 and control of substances hazardous to health 2002 Act (COSHH). Different systems and policies are discussed as under:
The Health and Safety Act 1974
In The Health and Safety Act 1974, the legislative requirement is that whatsoever be the organisation in health and social care workplace, it is the responsibility of that firm to provide proper support and care to the employees (Webber, Reidy and Morris, 2015). If in case some employee undergoes some illness, accident or injury, then the organisation seems to have the responsibility to provide the employee an efficient amount of care.
The Food hygiene regulations Act 2006
The Food hygiene regulations Act 2006 considers the fact that whosoever dealing with the delivery, manufacturing and production of food items, it should be done in a proper and hygienic way. If any food item that is unhealthy or unsafe and is being supplied for further process and selling, proper actions and measures can be taken accordingly. Along with its focus on the ingredients etc., it also has a major focus on the premises where food is being prepared. Strict measures are involved in the law and all the people involved have to ensure following the same (Bill, 2004). It is important because major rates for compensation are there for the people who do not follow the regulations. It is very important because in enormous number of cases, it has been observed that because of various adulteration cases, people had to undergo major complications and issues. Adulteration in food items can poison it and can throw a wide impact, thus can be considered as dangerous enough for an individual. Therefore, for preventing such factors and issues, government has imposed The Food hygiene regulations Act 2006.
The Disability discrimination Act 1995
The Disability discrimination Act 1995 considers the fact that every person in the health and social care workplace is equal. Also, it ensures that there must not be any sort of racism or discrimination with any member of the organisation. It is essential to consider because when an individual is admitted to the hospital or a health care, the environment howsoever makes the person uncomfortable for a while (Redmond, 2017). Therefore, any sort of racism can actually hurt their sentiments and also, can make them weaker. Whether it is on the basis of colour, race, gender etc., it is not permitted in a social and health care workplace. The law says everyone should be treated equally on every basis. There should not be any sort of discrimination, either on race, gender, sex etc. because this can actually make the person weak and can affect their mental ability. Lack of mental ability can cause major complications such as the person can go in depression and there are possibilities of suicidal cases as well.
Control of substances hazardous to health 2002 (COSHH)
The Control of substances hazardous to health 2002 Act refers to the fact that by involving various factors such as pre assessment of risk, surveillance etc. a better rate of protection can be provided to the employees of the health and social care workplace. It investigates a range of factors that can act hazardous as it can be some chemicals etc. So, with the help of a pre risk assessment, it can be easy for investigate the factors that can actually influence negatively. So, for such factors, proper measures can be taken. There can be various toxins also that can act hazardous. So, with the help of a pre risk assessment, these hazardous substances can be investigated and so, can be prevented as well.
Responsibilities in health and social care with reference to the organisational structure
For managing and maintaining a balance between different factors and operations of health and social care, employees and employers play a major and important role. The only factor that is to be ensured is that both of them must be capable and understandable enough of their roles and responsibilities (Mason, Goddard and Chalkley, 2015). It is because if they will be clear enough of their basic responsibilities and roles, then it can seem easy and the output rates can also be achieved more successfully and efficiently. Discussing the responsibilities as under:
Employers
As per the norms, laws and policies implemented by the government of UK, the employers of an organisation of health and social care are responsible for the processing of various operations and functions that are being done in the workplace. Whether it is in terms of managing the basic chores of workplace, handling issues and factors of employees or it is about the safety and health of employees, employers holds the main responsibility. It is because they need to manage all these factors, and if in case, there are some factors that they cannot manage, then they can convey the same to the management as well. Therefore, employers play a major role. If all the employers tend to follow their responsibilities in an appropriate way, it can further help in maintaining an appropriate rate of balance in health and social care