Geriatrics and Care Home Essay

Submitted By samanthahutton234
Words: 964
Pages: 4

P1 explain potential hazards and the harm that may arise from each in a health and social care setting
Cherry Trees is a Care Home just outside of Alcester, which provides a 24 - hour nursing care to frail older people, people living with dementia and younger people with physical disabilities. They believe every one of the individuals in which they support deserves dignity, choice and independence. For them, recognising individuality means listening to what people tell have to say to them and ensuring every day is thoroughly enjoyable. Their approach includes jointly written care plans designed to help the members at Barchester learn about personal likes and dislikes as well as helping to set care and rehabilitative goals encouraging independence. They help the people they support keep up community links and welcome those visits from family and friends that can be so important.

Security hazards

At Cherry Trees, to keep the staff and residents safe from intruders or people from escaping, security systems have been fitted in the care home. They have pin codes for the majority of doors in the building and the windows on the ground floor do not open far enough for people either to get in or out of the building. However, if there was a fire then this would waste some crucial time to escape or be rescued, as the rescuers need access to the building to evacuate anyone who is trapped inside the building. In having a pin to be able to unlock the door does have negatives as well, an example is that if one of the residents who has dementia escapes through a door which has been left open then they could end up dying as there is a main road just by the care home.

The staff at Cherry Trees keeps the information about the residents in the care home safe and only let the people who need to know the confidential information about the resident. They should also hold the confidential information onto the computer, which must be protected by a password, which prevents any information going out to anyone. The people who do need to know will be the only person who will know the password, then they would have the responsibility to keep the information safe and not sharing the password that gives you access to the information on the residents to anyone else.

Safety Hazards

There are many hazards linked with handling people but the main hazard is that the staff who is handling the residents may slip over or trip over, stand in an awkward position, twist or over-reach, as may the resident in which they are assisting. Any of these mistakes above could lead to injuries such as strains, sprains or even fracture for either the residents or the career of that resident. In result to the injury caused by handling a person incorrectly may take several months or even years to recover fully. In some cases it could be a permanent injury.

The equipment at Cherry Trees must be functioning correctly and fully maintained at all times. There should be a schedule for checking equipment to ensure that is does not cause injuries to staff or the residents. This might include firefighting equipment, hoists and medical diagnostic equipment. If any of this equipment is faulty it will not work properly. In the case of diagnostic equipment, this could lead to a false diagnosis, which could potentially lead to death of the resident at Cherry Trees.

There is this one lady who has a walking aid to help her around the care home, but this could be a hazard to the