CU2547: Contribute to health and safety in health and

social care
1.1. Identify legislation relating to general health and safety in a health or social care work setting
The legislation relating to general health and safety in social care work settings:
- The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HASAWA)
- Reporting of Injury, Disease and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR)
- The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- Food safety Act 1990
- Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER) 1998
- Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations (PPE) 1992
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) 2002
1.2. Describe the main points of the health and safety policies and procedures agreed with the employer
The purpose of the Health and safety policies and procedures is to show what needs to be done to
maintain a safe place of work and meet the requirements of health and safety legislation.
It is important that all machineries are used correctly and that training and supervision is given to
the staff for reporting and recording of health and safety issues. The machinery should be regularly
tested.
Also, it is important to be aware of one's individual risk assessment, and to co-operate with the
employed in order to ensure a safe workplace.
1.3. Outline the main health and safety responsibilities of:
- Self - My main health and safety responsibilities are to practice and monitor the care procedures,
to attend the training and be able to use the care materials and equipment. It is important to
colaborate with the employer in order to minimise any risk of danger and possibility of injury and
harm to the others.
- The employer/manager - The main responsibilities of the manager is to ensure that there are safe
working methods and equipment in place. He needs to make sure that all the staff is trained and
knows well their own responsibilities. The manager should also supervise and inform the staff about
health and safety procedures and provide free of charging protective clothing and equipment.
- The others:
The staff and visitors like relatives, doctors, service users, nurses need to know know well their role
in the health and social care setting, and to be able to follow to report any health issues and to
follow the instructions learned during the training.
1.4. Identify tasks relating to health and safety that should not be carried out without special
training:
Some of the tasks that are hazardous for health and safety and shouldnt be done without special
training are: related to people and equipment:
- cooking and giving medicines
- manipulate equipment
- using hoists and slings
- waste disposal
- cleaning and using chemical substances

- moving and handling procedures

1.5. Explain how to access additional support and information relating to health and safety
The best way to access additional support and training is by attending training and reading books.
Information and advice is also available online on The Health and Safety Executive website or
some workplaces also have a Health and Safety representative that can help.
2.1. Explain why it is important to assess health and safety hazards posed by the work setting or by
particular activities
One one hand it is important to assess health and safety hazards posed by work setting or particular
activities in order to comply with the legislation. The purpose of this assessment is to minimize the
potential risks to service users, colleagues or visitors.
2.2. Explain how and when to report potential health and safety risks that have been identified
I am responsible for my own health and safety, but also of the health and safety of the other service
users, visitors and staff. If any risks appear it is important to report to the manager/supervisor
straightaway. That is why a good cooperation with the manager is needed. An example of such
potential risk are the slippery floors. All the potentials risks should be recorded into a health and
safety log.
2.3. Explain how risk assessment can help address dilemmas between rights and health and safety
concerns.
Sometimes the risk assessment is needed in order to avoid confusion between rights and health and
safety concerns. One of the situations that arise is when a patient wants to engage into a particular
activity that he cannot do without the help of the staff. An example will be a heavy patient that can't
move without help or a person with physical disabilities that is not able to stand on their feet..
Another example will be a patient that is smoking and insists to smoke in his bedroom. In this
situation the risk assessment will decide if the willings of the patient are not putting them in
danger.
3.1. Describe different types of accidents and sudden illness that may occur in own work setting
The accidents and sudden illness that might occur in my work setting are:
- back injuries through using the wrong manual handling techniques;
- tight chest through an infection.
- slips from wet floors;
- burns or poisoning by chemical substances and disinfectant material,
- food poisoning by food stored wrongly
3.2. Outline the procedures to be followed if an accident or sudden illness should occur
One of the most important procedures is to record all the accidents that occur by specifying well
the date and time when the accident occur, the place where it happened and the description of what
happened along with the details of the persons involved.
If the accident needs to be reported to a government body, this must be done in accordance to the
RIDDOR legislation.

If the staff is trained to do the first aid this should be given directly in case of emergency, however
if the staff it is not trained for that it should call for immediate help and try to make the area of the
accident safe.