COVER STORY
Managing Carer Safety
Nicola Coote, Deputy CEO of PHSC plc, shares some advice for care providers on how to meet safety elements of the Care Act 2014 and save time and money by integrating workplace health, safety and welfare systems into wider healthcare protocols.
The Care Act 2014 places care and support law into a single, clear and modern statute. For the first time, care staff will be put on the same legal footing as the people they care for; they will have extended rights to assessment, and new entitlements to support to meet their needs.
The Act also places more emphasis than ever on prevention rather than protection (something the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations has been promoting since the early 1990s). So how can care providers ensure that this significant change in focus can be addressed effectively, without being a further drain on resources?
As a specialist in safety and risk management in the healthcare sector, all too often we see overworked managers spending unnecessary time running duplicate systems to demonstrate compliance with CQC standards and then with HSE requirements. Why? I ask. Not only does it require double the work, but it
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also means that stretched care workers have to check two lots of documents and systems. The solution: integrate them into one system.
The key is to avoid development of parallel systems to satisfy different health and safety enforcers, i.e. the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) versus the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Remember, parallel lines never meet. Both enforcers may be coming at risk management from different angles, but actually they are looking to achieve similar objectives. Historically, healthcare legislation has focused more on the people being cared for, but the new Care Act will focus on a joined up approach to protect both care receiver and carer.
Activity
Assisting Mrs A out of bed
Resident’s Needs
Mrs A has severe arthritis in her hands and shoulders. Her hands should not be grasped tightly. She likes the middle of her back to be supported.
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www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
Here are some simple examples of how this can be achieved.
Induction Training Of Staff We have seen many care providers give general induction into the home’s general practices, and then complete a separate session on health and safety. Safety management of the carer and people being cared for should be the same. For example, accident and incident reporting procedures for residents should be the same as those for staff to report their own accidents or near miss situations. When considering procedures for infection control among residents, these should include arrangements for staff to
Carer’s H&S
Use the electric bed adjustment to help Mrs A sit up unaided. Encourage her to get out of bed on the right-hand side to avoid the need to stretch or bend over to reach her.
Photo credit Mark-Adkins Foter CC BY-NC-SA
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