Level 3 Unit 15
Lorna Robertson

1:1 There are many legisations relating to health and and safety in a social care setting, here is a list of the most important legisations;
Health & Safety at Work Act 1974
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulation 1999
Health & Safety (first aid) Regulation 1981 include ammendent on 2009
The electricity at work regulations 1989
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurences Regulations 1995
Working Time Regulations
Care Standard Act 2000
Food Safety Act 1990 and Food Hygiene Regulations 2005
Enviromental Protection Act 1990

1:2 All of the above mentioned are a crucial part of health and safety, every piece of legislation describes not only clear guidance of responsibilites but also how we mantain health and safety to eliminate risks for the people using social care settings. For example Food Safety Act & Food Hygiene are important as it explains the responsibilties for handling food and the safety within to prevent any contamination or food posioning. Enviroment Protection Act 1990 which describes the responsbilites involving clinical waste in order to prevent any harm towards the enviroment. Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 will explain the responsibilties of moving and handling a person, the correct positions on how do this in order to prevent any injuries to yourself or any others involved.
1:3 I am going to compare the differences in the main health and safety responsibilities of a social care worker, the employees or manager an a individual.
Social Care Worker
Take care of their own health and safety as well as others
Co-operate with their employer by following policies and procedures
Must use personal protective equipment as necessary
Must adhere to achieve training and follow instruction
Not to misuse with anything provided for health and safety or welfare

Employer/Manager
Provide safe and risk free enviroment
Provide equipments
Provide infomation, training, instuction and supervision if needed
Ensuring equipment is safe to use and instructions are to be folowed
Deal with hazardous substances safely

Individuals
Respect and follow the rules and legislation
Follow the instruction and guidance as provided an example of this would be do not use the lift in the event of a fire
Co-operate with employer and workers if anything has been noticed may cause harm to others or concern to others health and safety
1:4 Situations which the responsibility of health and safety lies with the individual when the individual does not comply with assesments and procedures, they do not take reasonable care of their own or others safety. Correct use of health and safety equipment and clothing, following correct procedures and standards should be followed. An example of this could be if they leave something on which could cause a fire or smoking and not putting the cigarette out properly.
1:5 Specific tasks should only be carried out with special training to ensure legislation is complied with to practice safely and correctly, to minimise the consequences of injury and illness, to treat injuries and illnesses effectively. An example of tasks that should not be carried out without training are medication,equipment, first aid, food handling and preparation. Employers have legal duties to give health and safety infomation and training to all employees, Training should include all the risks that employees are exposed too and the precautions needed. The training should make clear the areas of activity home carers should and should not undertake and should also give guidance on approriate footwear and clothing.
1:6 There are many ways to access different sorts of support and information in relation to the health and safety if it is needed. You could seek additional support and infomation by talking to your manager or supervisor, you could discuss these matters with a more senior member of staff who could give you some more