Unit 3 – Health, Safety and Security in Health and Social Care
P1 – Explain potential hazards and the harm that may arise from each in a health or social care setting.
Introduction:
For P1, I am an employer, working for the local authority. My role is to check health, safety and security in different care settings. I will be looking for loose wires or toys lying around the floor as these are risks to injuries in the care setting.
Key Terms: * Hazards: Anything that may cause any harm, such as loose wires trailing along the floor. Somebody may trip over them. * Risk: Risk is the chance that someone may be harmed, high or low risk, such as falling down the staircase. * Health hazards: These include incidents leading to an illness, such as visiting a patient in a hospital, and catching the norovirus. * Safety hazards: Incidents that lead to a personal injury or damage to equipment or buildings, such as using heavy or dangerous machinery with no license. * Security hazards: This includes intruders, theft of property or information and individuals either being abducted or leaving without consent. Such as having safety locks on doors at nurseries for young children to ensure that they cannot escape. * Reference. PPT. Level 3

Hazards in a health or social care setting, with examples.
Hazards in a physical environment
The physical environment includes everything that surrounds us, such as; objects, people, pets etc… These can have an impact on the well-being of staff and other individuals. For example: In a nursery, ventilation (windows, doors, overhead fans/ventilation systems) decreases the spread of diseases or airborne infections, such as colds. So it is important to have fresh air circulating around the building/s. However, in a nursery, safety and security is a key item. So as a safety feature, windows should be at a certain level, either locked or safety catches when open so that children cannot open them themselves and unwanted people cannot enter. Reference. H&SC. Level 3. Book 1. Page 88
Hazards from equipment
All equipment could be hazardous. Toys left lying around on the floor – people/children could trip over them. For example: Computers now play important roles in the care industry. Computer wires can also be a health or safety issue. For example: Children may trip over loose wires and an injury may occur. To prevent this from happening, cable ties should be used to stop them trailing along the floor, and tape could be used to cover them up so that nobody could trip over them. Reference. H&SC. Level 3. Book 1. Page 89.
Hazards from infections
If people do not follow instructions correctly, you can either harm yourself or others around you. Food hygiene is a huge risk in the care industry. Young children and elderly people are particularly at risk the most. For example: Young children are fed regularly in a day care, food is included in the price. All staff, cooks and young children should thoroughly wash their hands before eating and make sure that food is always checked before cooked and given to children.
Hazards from waste
Waste may be harmful to anybody if it has harmful chemicals in. With young children they do not exactly know what to eat and what not to eat. And the first instinct for a young child to do is put the item into the mouth and either chew or swallow. If waste is placed in a “Common Place” where children play can be very dangerous. Animals such as fox’s and cats also find food from waste bins and this can also be dangerous to young children. Rubbish may overflow and young children may also play in this while carers are not looking. To prevent this waste should be situated in a place where young children cannot touch or go near for their safety.
Hazardous substances
Any products containing chemicals that are hazardous, such as bleach and other cleaning products can be harmful to anybody. These products can affect our health and especially to young children. For example: In a nursery, harmful cleaning products should be placed in a high cupboard where no child can mess with them. They can affect their health, so health and safety should be in place.
Hazardous working conditions
In the work place, regulations have to be followed correctly for health and safety to work efficiently. If not somebody could either harm themselves or others around them. For example: Each employer that uses heavy machinery I.E. A digger, or a forklift, should have a license to drive one. If not you could harm others around you and even yourself by driving into people or driving into other equipment and damaging both.
Hazardous working practices
Hazards such as chemical hazards are very existent in the work place. Harmful chemicals should be labelled with the specific damages to the body, such as if you get it on your fingers or in your eyes etc… For example: If an employer is using or carrying a harmful substances with harmful chemicals, it should be labelled to make sure that it is hazardous.

Setting Type | Use of Care Setting | Potential Hazards | Nursery | Young children | In a nursery there are many hazards that can occur if rules and regulations are not followed correctly. Here are some:1. Teachers usually teach the children to use glue sticks and use them appropriately. However, there are hazards that may occur that the children may not understand. For example: The children were making pretty pictures to show and learn the different types of colours. By doing this they were using glue sticks and scissors. A small child aged 5, started to eat the glue, as they did not realise the harm that may occur. There are not much harm that may occur if a child eats glue sticks as they are non-toxic. However, it may give the child a bad stomach if he/she eats too much. 2. There are many other hazards that may occur if the children are using scissors. For example: The teacher was teaching the young children to glue and stick pretty pictures and colours to represent the different types of colours. However, hazards may occur. Such as: A child was walking around holding scissors in their hands. There were many toys lying around the floor. If a child did not notice these toys, he/she may trip over them and accidently cut themselves or others. 3. Toys lying around the floor. In a nursery, young children like to play with toys and leave the lying around the floor without picking them up. Usually a carer/teacher would notice them and pick them up before any harm is done. However, sometimes the teachers do not notice them and are left lying around the floor. A hazard is that a child or even a teacher may trip and fall over them and hurt either themselves or others around them. To prevent this, teachers should pick up loose toys.4. Windows/doors with no safety locks. Safety locks on windows and doors are a must have. There are many hazards that may occur from this. Such as, the children may try to escape out of the windows and fall out without a teacher noticing. Or, an intruder may try to enter who has not got permission. To prevent this from happening, safety locks should be placed on doors and windows. | Primary School | Young people/students & teachers | In a primary school there are many hazards that may occur, if rules and regulations are not followed correctly. Here are some:1. Loose electrical wires are a hazard that may cause harm to either students or teachers. If they are lying around, both students and teachers may trip over them and hurt themselves or hurt others around them. To prevent this from happening, wires should not be tangled up, and they should be placed into a wire case and not trailing across the floor. If wires cannot be hung anywhere, then a piece of duct tape can be used to cover them over. This way people can notice them and no accidents can happen.2. Eating and drinking around a computer. 3. Stranger danger. It can be very easy for strangers to pick up a child and take them away. However, teachers will not know who a stranger is and who is not. The dangers of this are kidnapping, or they could steal expensive equipment etc… So to prevent this, children should say where and who their parents are, and teachers should watch them. Another way is, if a visitor comes in, they need a badge or something that will have their names on so that teachers and students know who they are. 4. Ventilation systems. In a primary school, ventilation is very important (Ventilation systems/overhead fans). Ventilation systems are important because they prevent diseases and illness that are airborne. If these are not put in place, illnesses such as colds and flus can occur. To prevent this, ventilation systems could be placed on the celing (overhead fans) | Care home | Elderly people needing care | In a care home there are many hazards that may occur if rules and regulations are not followed correctly. Here are some:1. In a care home, food is supplied to the patients regularly with healthy meals with the correct nutrients. However, if the cooks/carers do not know or understand the foods that the patients cannot eat, it can cause the patients to have an illness. Such as: A patient has high cholesterol. Foods can prevent high cholesterol illnesses from occurring. But having the wrong types of foods that contain too much fat or sugars can cause them to have fits or heart attacks. This would be the same if a patient was a diabetic. Each patient should have a small booklet explaining the kinds of foods that are forbidden.2. Spillages can occur in the dining room of the care home. Such as spilling drinks of tea or squash. The harm that it can cause is that patients or even carers could trip over. Elderly people are more prone to breaking bones and hurting themselves, more than younger adults. To prevent this from happening ‘wet floor’ signs should place over the spillage, and then a carer/cleaner can come and clean up the mess. 3. Medication. In a care home, residents are usually around the age of over 65. Most residents would need medication to brain diseases such as, Parkinson’s disease. This medication would help some symptoms in the brain disease. If the wrong medication for the wrong person who has a different disease can cause other symptoms to appear. To prevent this from happening. Notes should be placed at the end of each care bed to remind the carers/doctors what medication they will need.4. Moving and handling. Residents may have different types of pains that may cause them to have problems with moving around. Residents should be provided with facilities such as Zimmer frames to prevent them from falling over and hurting themselves or others around them. | Hospital | Patients, visitors and doctors. | In a hospital there are many hazards that may occur if rules and regulations are not followed correctly. Here are some:1. Giving out the wrong medication. In a hospital, it can be very confusing for the doctors. If the doctors do get mixed up and give the wrong prescription to the wrong patient, it can cause the patient to have different types of symptoms that may harm them. To prevent this from happening, patients should have notes on the side of their beds where the doctors can see, so that the patients get the correct care and prescription for medicine.2. If a patient is placed in a room where it should be closed off because of disease that are spread easily, diseases and illnesses that may cause death can cause a lot of patients to die. To prevent this from happening, patients who have harmful diseases should be in a quarantine room or away from any patients that may catch the disease. 3. Hospitals should provide hand wash in each room to prevent any other diseases that could spread to patients or visitors. To prevent this, hand wash detergents should placed in every room and corridors. 4. Rooms that supply drugs/medication should have special pin numbers to prevent any intruders entering and stealing important drugs that may be expensive and needy. Harm is that if the intruder is using them for not specific reasons such as for illegal drugs, it could cause harm to their bodies. |