P2- Outline the main features of current health and safety legislation as applied in health and social care
In the Health and Social Care sector, there is a lot of health and safety legislation. For example, there are laws that deal with injuries at work, fire safety and food safety. This essay will describe the health and safety legislation in Health and Social Care.
The Health and Safety at work Act (1974) is one of the main health and safety laws in this sector. Rasheed (2010) says that the law covers all activities at work. The Health and Safety Executive (n.d) explain that the local authorities have to enforce this Act. Therefore, all Health and Social care settings need to follow the Health and Safety at work Act.
The Food Safety Act 1990 is very important for this laws sector. Rasheed (2010) says the law covers food hygiene and also it makes sure the food is not injurious to health. Local authority environmental health officers enforce this law. The Food Safety Act also states that people working with food must practise good food hygiene in the workplace.
The Manual Handling Operation Regulations 1992 is important for the Health and Social Care sector. Haworth et al. ( 2010, p. 83) says that the this law covers all manual handling activities, such as lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling or carrying objects or people. In the workplace injuries are due to poor manual handing skills that the employees must follow the manual procedures and co-operate on all manual handling issues.
The Report of Injuries Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations Act 1995 is very important for this sector. Walsh (2010, p.90) says that the care practitioner is expected to report diseases, illnesses and conditions that are risk to health. The (RIDDOR) 1995 say that by law, the following situations must be recorded and reported to the Health and Safety Executive such as death in the workplace, injuries that lead to 3 or more days off sick and the range of infectious diseases and illnesses including