HEALTH AND SAFETY

Health And Safety In Health And Social Care

Health And Safety In Health And Social Care

Introduction

Health and safety are considered to be viable aspects that are given utmost importance in hospitals and clinical settings to protect the health and wellbeing of patients and staff involved in providing care. Poor health and safety practices and policies in hospitals and clinical settings result in adverse effects on patients and health care workers, organizations and overall community.

Health and safety can be considered as viable responsibilities that need to be shared by everyone in health and social care sector so to protect health and wellbeing of every individual involved. Thus, care workers must be aware and be responsible at all times for health and safety of patients, other staff and themselves. Health and social care management must enforce policies and interventions to foster healthy and stress free lifestyle for health care workers and professionals.

Discussion

Health And Safety In Health And Social Care

Health care workers have to perform various tasks and carry out jobs that involve many health related risks. The health care sector is large where most of the employed workers are women. Their health and safety are always at risk when it comes to provide and deliver frontline care for physically and mentally impaired patients. The health care workers have to handle such patients, perform cleaning services and health care services that make these workers vulnerable towards many health and safety risks (osha.europa.eu, 2013, p.1).

Health and safety are given significant importance especially when the health care givers are unable to recognize or take responsibility of their own health and safety in the midst of providing care to others. Providing optimum health care and safety is the responsibility of health and safety management in hospitals and other clinical settings. It is the responsibility of the management to make available useful and adequate information related to providing health and safety to patients, other staff members and oneself. This information will facilitate the healthcare givers to provide best care services while protecting their health (Clarke et.al. pp. 122).

In health and social care organizations and workplace, the impact of poor health policies and procedures can be adverse. The impact affects individuals and can result in poor and huge consequences. These consequences include pains, sufferings, financial problems, psychological injuries and illness, low morale and abseentism among care givers, poor and reduced productivity, poor image of health organization, and under worst conditions injury and death of patients and workers (osha.europa.eu, 2013, p.1).

Health And Safety Legislation Is Implemented In The Workplace

Health and safety policy is a part of health and social care workplace. The policy of health and social care must ensure that the employers and management would provide safe and healthy work environment for the employees to work in. The policy must include emergency plans for example evacuation procedures and arrangements for contacting emergency services. The policy and program for health and safety in health workplace must include arrangements for occupational health expertise, immunization arrangements for all ...