Health and safety at the work place
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Introduction
Most of the challenges faced in healthcare are associated with poor communication processes. It is vital to explore the process of communication to appreciate on how it affects the healthcare stakeholders in delivery of their services (Department of Health, 2010). Most of the healthcare staff lacks the understanding of the legal frameworks that govern the process of transferring information within the healthcare and the social care settings. It is vital to note that effective communication within the organization should lie within the context of the healthcare job role, and the principle of confidentiality of information must be supported (Rasheed, Hetherington, & Irvine, 2014). In this contest, this paper describes the on ways to understand the health and safety communication legislation is implemented in the work place. The paper will also explore on ways in which the health and safety requirements influence the various healthcare stakeholders, and how the safety in healthcare and the social care workplace can be reviewed and monitored.
Task 1.1
There are various legal communication frameworks that can be used to implement efficient communication in Silver Meadows healthcare facility (NHS, 2014). These includes legislations such as Health and Safety at workplace Act of 1974, COSHH 2002, Food and Safety Act 1990, Care Standard Acts 2000, Workplace regulations 1992, Mental Health Act 2007, Food Safety regulations 1992 and RIDDOR 1995. These legislations have been put forward to place order within the healthcare setting and sustaining safe working environments (Department of Health, 2010).
Failure to implement these legal frameworks, Silver Meadow healthcare facility is faced with numerous challenges associated with miscommunication, putting the safety and the quality standards of the healthcare facility and patient’s life in jeopardy. The healthcare facility must identify ways to communicate on important risk issues such as fire evacuation plan, the fire escape procedures or liability plan.
A policy procedure of implementation consists of 3 parts;
- a) A general statement that describes the organization intent- i.e. philosophy of the healthcare facility regarding health and safety
- b) Organization- of the staff, chain of commands and their responsibilities in health and safety management
- c) Arrangements- including the procedures and systems. These include safe systems, training, machine area guarding, noise control, fire safety, prevention etc.
During the implementation process, Silver Meadow staff must consider the mode of communication that is most effective. The information can be through various modes of communication such as verbal, audio visual or even verbal communication (Rasheed, Hetherington, & Irvine, 2014). Irrespective of the mode of communication chosen, the information must be clear, succinct as long information could lead to confusion. Some of the most effective communication implementation plan is through the use of diagrams. This includes policy manuals or the health and diagrams/ charts to indicate what should be done in case of emergency (Department of Health 2013b).
A short video can be displayed to help those who cannot read or write understand the risks involved if certain safety measures are not followed, thus protecting the service providers and the service users form injuries. The common means of communication that is universally accepted by the European Unions (EU) are the most effective tools that should be used to convey important information within the healthcare settings (Rasheed, Hetherington, & Irvine, 2014). This process aids in conveying the same message across the globe, irrespective of the type of communication barrier such as language, and physical disabilities such as deaf, low proficiency in the national language, age, education level among others. Examples of such symbols are shown below:
Source: Victory Graphics Art, 2014.
The employers as well as directors of health and social care have a statutory duty by Health and Safety at work 1974 to prepare and store revised written information of safety policy within their work place. The policy statement and any information revised must be brought to the employees attentions through notification, posters and issuing of documents. This policy document should have information for employer’s duties, training courses requirements and any other important briefing sessions of the employees. The organization policies and manuals must be documented into a single manual to ensure that every person in the healthcare facility can access the piece of information; the risks are evaluated and controlled. The organization must assign one person is responsible for the maintenance of a safety organization. This is to ensure that all the equipment is evaluated, first aid regulations are followed, and all safety equipment that is missing gets replaced. This ensures that healthcare facility safety is maintained, and the quality standards of the organizations are sustained (HSE, 2014).
The law also expects that the employee must be consulted on health and safety issues. This facilitates creation and maintenance of safe healthy environment; and also motivates the staff, making them become aware of the health as well as safety issues. The safety information that must be given to the employees includes the dangers and risks associated with their work. This promotes the planning of safety measure, which is achieved through training (Social Care, n.d.).
Additionally, the management of health and safety work regulations 1992 states that employers must assess safety risks at their work places in order to identify risks early enough, and to develop protective measures. This helps in ensuring that the employees work related injuries are reduced; thereby creating a safety culture within the organizations. This helps the employer to meet legal duty of protecting the health as well as safety issues of the employees (Social Care, n.d.).
Therefore, Silver Meadow’s must also conduct health assessments as stipulated by the Patient Led Assessment of Care Environment (PLACE). These assessments aids in ensuring that the healthcare organizations are safe and protect all the stakeholders that work within the organization. This is clearly stipulated by the NHS standard Contract 2013/2014, which illustrates a candour contractual responsibility for the organization staff to ensure that the healthcare facility is safe. The standards ensures that the healthcare facility have adequate light, ventilation, working space and the continual training of the staff to ensure that they sustain a safety culture within the healthcare facility (RCN, 2013).
Task 1.2
The healthcare provider’s responsibilities in maintaining safety in healthcare facilities is well illustrated by Health and Safety responsibilities in the health and safety work Act 1974. Responsibility is defined as an obligation to perform a specific task to completion that one is mandated to fulfil, and one that have a consequent penalty if not fulfilled. Each person has a responsibility to ensure that they have responsibility (RCN, 2013).
For instance Health and Safety commission have proposed to Secretary of state the health and safety regulations, for example Noise at Work regulation 1989. The health and safety executives should mandated to ensure the health and Safety commission proposed acts are carried out on daily basis. They should be involved in the investigation of risky incidents. They are expected to inspect healthcare facilities without any warning to identify if regulations are being breached. They can give two types of notices; a) improvement notices- notices that tell the employer to improve certain condition within a stipulated period of time; and b) prohibition notice- that is only given if the inspectors have evidences that indicate high risk of work related injuries (RCN, 2013).
Employers are expected to comply with the established legal requirements. They should take employee’s liability insurances. They should follow standard operation procedures to ensure that the machinery is used properly minimizing risk of injuries. They should ensure that all the work equipment is maintained. All toxic and lethal substances must be stored in safe cabinets and out of people reach (HSE, 2010). In general, employers are expected to safeguard the health and safety of their employees. They should provide instruction, training and supervision of all activities that promote patient safety. They should write safety polices; and publishing them on notice board for all the employees to see. They should provide the health and safety poster to each employee as mandated by Health and safety at work Act 1974. The written policy should be comprehensively indicates organization rules in terms of manpower, terms of system and policy implementation. The policy must name all managers and directors and their responsibilities (Fraser, 2014).
The employee’s responsibilities include taking care of themselves to avoid work related injuries. This is achieved by taking great care of themselves as well as their colleagues. This is achieved by following written policy. They must not interfere with any of medical devices. The employees must report hazards, risks and accidents to relevant authorities. They should avoid wearing jewellery or loose clothing during machinery operation. They must cooperate with their members and employers, especially during safety training. They must always use PPE appropriately. If there are any reasonable concerns about safety, they must be report them to Health and Safety Executive. The employees have right to rest breaks at work, time off the work with annually paid holidays. Employees are represented by health and safety representatives that are appointed by trade unions. To represent employees on safety, health and welfare issues. They must consult on health and safety issues that affect their members. They should attend safety committee meetings (Rasheed, Hetherington, & Irvine, 2014).
In the Silver Meadow’s case study, the organization has much responsibility in ensuring that the new clinical guidelines on organizational culture. This includes the process of ensuring that the risks are managed effectively One of the directors in the Silver Meadow’s healthcare facility must be mandated with the organization security, safety and quality of care. This designated person will ensure that the healthcare facility understands the relevant legislations and standards of health and safety. This can be done through meetings where the healthcare organizations will be mandated in ensuring that all the stakeholders (external and internal) are adequately informed on the safety regulations and the quality standards. If necessary, training can be done to ensure that the service providers and the service users are at par (Rasheed, Hetherington, & Irvine, 2014).
The junior staffs are responsible of every action they undertake. Therefore, before performing any practice, a risk assessment must be performed to ensure that the activity will not harm the service users and service providers in Silver Meadow’s healthcare facility (Social care, n.d.). They must always report the accidents or near misses, so that the cause can be evaluated, and solutions to solve the accidents as well as strategies to avoid such incidences in the future are met. These reports must be submitted to the secretary in the department of health, which are used during inspection to see if the health and safety regulations meet the required criteria (Francis, 2013).
The Silver Meadow’s board members have the responsibility to ensure that inspections are conducted regularly. This will ensure that the healthcare facility observes the established safety standards and legal frameworks within the healthcare facility. Additionally, the NHS board members have the responsibility of assessing the healthcare facility including the workplace environment to ensure that the employees are not posed to risks or work related hazards (Francis, 2013). They must ensure that the working condition complies with the Healthy and Safety executive standards. Where the board members are dissatisfied with the standards in the organization, then they have the full responsibility to ensure that they advise the healthcare facility management on issues to rectify. If the issues are not improved, then the relevant penalties can be issued to the healthcare facility. The penalties include hefty fines or even the closure of the healthcare facility, but they largely depend on the magnitude of healthcare irregularity practiced (Fraser, 2014).
The employer’s responsibility is to ensure that the employees have a safe working condition. They must issue the employees with protective working apparatus to ensure that they are protected from unsafe environment (Social care, n.d.). They must insure the employees on medical covers and other liabilities associated with their work. The employers must report all incidences of injuries and the near misses to the secretary in the Department of health. Additionally, they must be the key decision makers, and where the healthcare providers are faced with numerous challenges or ethical dilemmas, they must inform their employers, and the path chosen must be align with the employers wills (HSE, 2010).
The employees must document the organization policies and standards. They must also identify the organizations mission, objectives and aims. They are mandated in ensuring that they deliver quality care and sustaining of a safe culture within the organization (RCN, 2013). Each of the employees must be assigned safety responsibilities such as quality control, maintenance of equipment and fire training. This must be coupled with effective leadership. This is because the organization standards are largely influenced by the type of leaders (Francis, 2013).
Task 1.3
The healthcare priorities should comply with health and safety regulations. Examples include COSHH, FIRST AID PRECAUTIONS, RIDDOR, WORK EQUIPMENT etc. The first priority includes that of reporting incidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences reporting (RIDDOR). The health care staff must ensure that all accidents and near misses that could have resulted in injury must be reported. These also include violent incidences such as verbal threats. Incidences such as deaths should be reported to the government (HSE, n.d.)
Other priority includes prevention of falls. The employers are expected to ensure that they protect any areas below or above the ground are protected, and if one must work above the ground, they must be protected. Use of PPE and machines such as stepladders should be used. All prevention training must be followed. The following issues must be avoided including stepping in ladder, chairs or tables. Additionally, employees must be discouraged from standing on the fork-lift truck. The healthcare providers must establish welfare facilities such as toilets, sanitary disposal facilities and washbasins (Francis, 2013).
The environment space should have sufficient space, well-lit and ventilated. Employee’s chairs must remain safe and comfortable. The environment temperature should be reasonable, at least 16 degrees Celsius for office area and three degrees lower in areas with physical work. In regions with high weather temperatures, the employers should provide local cooling systems such as fan. The healthcare facilities should establish first aid protocols (HSE, n.d.). This includes having a green first aid box, with one employee being appointed to take charge during emergencies. There should be well written notices to inform the employees on what to do during emergencies, and whom to contact. Fire precautions Regulations of 1989 must be followed. This includes putting arrangements on ways to prevent fires, raise alarm, emergency evacuations and how to use emergency evacuations. Manual handling, lifting weights and equipment maintenance should be conducted as stipulated by manual handling of operations regulations 1992 states that policies to be followed to reduce injuries associated with manual handling of things (Francis, 2013).
From the case study, the first priority is to establish safety and quality organization culture. This involves training to ensure that the all the stakeholders are taught on the most effective strategies to identify and address quality associated risky activities. Silver Meadow is a healthcare home, and therefore are most likely dealing with the elderly patients, and people in their end of life stage (Francis, 2013).
Their first priority is to safeguard these patients. Some of the strategies that can be incorporated within Silver meadow clinic include the introduction of walking aids. The rooms must be adequately lit to ensure that the patients do not have blurred vision due to too much light or due to inadequate lighting (Rasheed, Hetherington, & Irvine, 2014). Additionally, there must be enough ventilators and ensure that the floors are not slippery. All the hazards identified must be identified and labelled using symbols and signs as indicated by the EU. The use of the assistive devices must be incorporated in the healthcare facility such as use of cameras and bedside bells can really improve safety issues in the healthcare facility (Francis, 2013).
The other priority is to ensure that all safety issues are documented. All accidents and near misses must be documented and reported to help note the potential risks within the healthcare facility. Any other type of unsafe practice must be reported. These include activities such as mistreatment or verbal abuse must be reported (World Report, 2013). Patient safety must be trained to all employees, which should include training on how to help the patients with their daily living activities such as bathing, toileting, use of the catheters as well as psychological factors. They must be trained on ways to manage healthcare safety such as hand hygiene to ensure that spread of hospitalized acquired infections are not spread. The issue of proper protective equipment must be maintained, and risk assessment activities must be conducted before performing every activity (HSE, n.d.)
Task 2.1
Risk assessment refers to a careful examination of the workplace to identify hazards and risks in order to protect workers. Hazards include things that cause harms such as electricity, noise, chemicals, bickering and bullying. On the other hand, risk is refers to the chance or likelihood that a hazard will cause an injury. Complete elimination of risks is known as zero risk. The perception of risk is influenced by a person’s experiences on adverse effects, beliefs, socio- cultural backgrounds, ability to control the risks, ways of gaining information among others. Risks are characterised by its extent and nature (World report 2013).
Risk assessment comprises of five main steps; a) identification of hazards, b)determination of hazards nature and extent, c) evaluation of risks and deciding on precautions, d) recording of findings and implementation and e) reviewing of an assessment and updating of information where necessary (RCN, 2013).
To identify the hazards, the inspector should walk around the work place to check if all regulations have been met. Employees can be interviewed by their representatives on what they feel as hazards. Practical guidelines are published in HSE website, which indicates the main sources of hazards and ways to control them. To determine hazards extent and nature, each hazard must be described comprehensively, including the people that could be harmed and how they could be harmed (World report 2013). This aids in establishing the best approaches to manage and control the risks. Evaluation of risk factors includes finding ways to control the identified risks. According to regulations, one is expected to do as much as they can to protect the public. In this case, controlling of risks implies preventing access to hazards and organizing work in a manner that reduces exposure to such hazards (RCN, 2013).
Other preventive measures will include use of protective personal equipment, provision of welfare facilities and looking for an alternative that are less risky. The findings found must be written down and shared with the higher authorities. The assessment must be suitable for the work place in order to be efficient. Efficient risk assessment indicates that a proper check was done; the affected group have been identified and have dealt with the significant hazards (World report 2013). Additionally, the precautions picked must be reasonable to ensure that they maintain the risks at low levels. An efficient risk assessment is one that involves the staff and their representatives directly. For short term remedies, an easy am cheap interventions should be applied for temporary measures. Risks with worst consequences require long term solutions. This includes performing refresher training to remind the employees of their mandated responsibilities (RCN, 2013). Regular checks must be assessed to ensure that they put measures in place and that all responsibilities are clear on how the actions will be led. The last step is reviewing of the risk assessment to ensure that the organizations standards of a safe organization are maintained. New changes must be integrated in the healthcare policies, and improvements noted. Lessons learnt from near misses must be used as a guide to protect the public from harm in the future (Francis, 2013).
The information collected facilitates the development of effective care planning. The risk assessment covers manual handling. This is an essential requirement on care plan that ensures that there is safety for the residents. Persons working in each healthcare facility at one pint will have to either lift or hold something manually. To fulfil part vii of the occupational safety and health regulations, the employers must perform a risk assessment before any operation being performed manually is undertaken. The planning to minimize risks includes laying strategies that ensures that staff follows the laid down practices such as using mechanical aids when lifting, holding or carrying out activities. The staff must be trained in order to ensure that they recognize the potential risks attributable to manual handling. Training should include ways to employ good postures when lifting heavy items, use of mechanical aids when transporting heavy things. If a task exceeds personal abilities, one must seek assistance (Francis, 2013).
Environment safety is also planned effectively using information collected for risk assessment. This includes eliminating poor conditions such as slippery floors, passageway obstruction and poor lighting. The work area must be maintained tidy and clean. Signs must be indicated clearly on hazards such as slippery floors, spillage of water among others. Other risk assessments information informing care planning includes health issues, maintenance of security, emergencies, accident prevention, fire safety and dealing with infection.
Task 2.2
The employers and directors of a workplace are mandated by the Health and Safety at work Act 1974 to design and keep a revised copy of written statement of health and safety policy. These policy statements should summarize the organization of the healthcare facility in terms of manpower and systems for policy implementation. The statement must include the names of the managers and directors that are statutory holders. The policy statement and any revision of the statement must be communicated to the employees through notification, issue of hardcopy of the policy and reinforced further using posters. The policy document should be comprehensive indicating each person’s responsibility, training session required and way to properly induct the new employees (World Report, 2013).
The healthcare policy generally consists of three parts; a) A general statement of the policy intent) Organization (employees and their responsibilities including their chains of command), and c) Arrangement of the healthcare (its procedures and systems). These includes issues such as safe systems at work place, safety training, environmental control, Machine area guarding, noise control, safety of radiation, fire safety and prevention.
Manual handling policy is important and compulsory in order to improve care planning and to reduce the hazard risks to employees and the services users (World Report, 2013). When working in healthcare facility, people are expected to lift or handle patients with limited mobility with care. Part VII of the occupational Safety and health regulation states that employees must perform risk assessment before conducting any operation manually. The negative impacts of manual handling technique could result into staff injuries, increase number of near misses and accidents. In some cases, fines, litigation and penalties are can be issued to compensate for the service user harmed by manual handling. The employee’s resources are lost through paying to employee’s sickness related to work injuries. The increased absence of employees affects the productivity of the work place (Rasheed, Hetherington, & Irvine, 2014).
The policy states that these risks can be minimized if the work place practices are laid down and emphasized by the employers. Additionally, mechanical aid must be used as much as possible when lifting, carrying or holding incapacitated patients. The employees must be trained on ways to recognize the risk associated with manual handling. Employing good posture in holding and lifting the person must be applied. This aids in minimizing excessive forces when bending, or twisting of the arms, neck or wrists. When using mechanical aids to transport and to transfer people, the correct operation procedures must be used. The employee should seek assistance from supervisors when undertaking tasks that they feel it exceeds their personal ability. In this regard, training sessions should be provided. The positive impact of manual handling policy includes reversing the aforementioned negative impacts. This improves business turnover, less work related accidents and low insurance covers (Department of Health, 2013a).
The environmental safety policy states that environmental conditions such as slippery floors, insufficient lighting, poor ventilation, obstruction of the passageway and stairways are some of the factors that contribute many accidents in the healthcare. Therefore, the environment must be sufficiently lit using natural and artificial lighting. There should be no worn-out carpets, rugs or trailing of electrical wires. The floors must remain clear from obstruction. The negative impact of poor environmental safety is that it increases risks for falls, slips and trips to the healthcare providers and the service users. Poor environmental monitoring systems such as burglary proof, intruders alarm and other assistive technologies exposes service users and employees to hazards (RCN, 2013).
To reduce these risks the work place environment must be kept tidy. Warning signs such as wet floors, slippery floors must be put up. Healthcare facility must use non slippery materials as much as possible. The area should be adequately lit, ventilates and the passageway route must be left clear from any source of obstruction. Wet floors must be dried as much as possible and trailing flexes rolled up and stored safely. Additionally, it is everyone’s responsibilities to develop a safe environment to ensure persons safety. They must be aware of the potential hazards by assessing and addressing the sources of risks. These must also be reported to the relevant authority (Rasheed, Hetherington, & Irvine, 2014).
Silver Meadow home care facility deals with elderly and patients in their end of life. This implies that one of the activities in this healthcare facility that would put into question the health care facility is handling and lifting of the patients who are vulnerable and susceptible to injuries (Rasheed, Hetherington, & Irvine, 2014).There are handling and lifting policies that have been developed with the aim of ensuring that patients are lifted safely, without posing them to risks (Francis, 2013).These policies act as framework of guidelines that are aimed at instilling the best management activities in every activity that involves the lifting and handling of the patient. These policies instil confidence in an organization, consequently improving the cost of return. The core standards of these policies are to ensure that there is training as well as risk assessment (Department of Health, 2013a).
Laxity in following these policies of handling and lifting of the patients could lead to fatal injuries. Overlooking even the tiniest aspect of care could lead to more patient injuries and even death. Other barrier that causes non adherence to the lifting and handling is inadequate information and miscommunication (RCN, 2013). These two factors results in in competencies especially when delivering care. The healthcare facility must establish the appropriate standards which are useful in guiding the healthcare personnel on the expected standards of care, thus reducing the incidences of injuries as well as accidents (Francis, 2013).
There is need to train the Silver Meadows staff on ways to manage the various comorbidities of care as outlined by the patient lifting strategies such as manual handling policies as well as standards of 1992. These strategies ensure that the equipment is maintained in their right standards (Social Care, n.d.). The machines and equipment are meant to lower the workload of staff, but if they are not appropriately maintained, it leads to loss of life. Maintained handling and lifting machinery results to reduced cost of care and improves the quality of care, and improves the reputation of Silver Meadow (World Report, 2013).
Task 2.3
The healthcare facilities face many healthcare dilemmas. For instance, the issue of ethical dilemma, which describes the tricky and complex decisions that must be made by the healthcare staff, where there have to choose the solution between two conflicting issues (World Report, 2013). A dilemma is a situation where a choice must be established between two or more alternative course of action. The main ethical dilemmas in the work place includes assessing if it is acceptable to lie, and how autonomy can be balanced with the need of protecting patient from harm. The victims of ethical dilemmas in the workplace include professionals and care workers providing care to people in the hospitals, residential facilities or in care settings (Rasheed, Hetherington, & Irvine, 2014). The main reasons for the ethical dilemmas include decreased level of capacity, personality traits, and vulnerability associated to memory, physical frailty and disorientation.
Solving ethical dilemmas requires critical judgment. For instance, freedom of choice and freedom of walking can be challenged by ethical considerations of the patient’s wellbeing and safety for others. There are specific guidelines and laws that set a framework by pointing to ways in which these ethical issues can be resolved. They rarely provide definitive answers to these specific dilemmas. For example, despite the health improvements associated with the use of technology, there are concerns raised by services users about caring for people living with dementia which are associated to stigma, privacy, and concerns that the use of these devices will replace rather add value to the patient. Use of technology has an effect on persons autonomy as they may feel controlled, devalued and under surveillances. The healthcare must guide the patient by emphasising that it is not a substitute to good care, enhancing care that the healthcare provider has to offer (World Report, 2013).
Other dilemmas occur when a person lacks the capacity to make appropriate decision. The patient autonomy, wellbeing along with the carer’s interests should be considered when deciding the use or disuse of technology or a system. The factors that must be considered include patient autonomy i.e. the patient concerns, opinions and views. The benefits of using the technology and the ways the carer’s interests are affected if the technology is not used.
Taking risks part of our daily lives (World Report, 2013). It is important for the healthcare to do as much as they can to improve the patients quality of life. The intervention chosen must have an absolute minimum risks. In some cases, the minimum risks will involves forgoing the benefits of freedom, which could potentially have detrimental effects on the patient autonomy and overall wellbeing. However, it is important to perform risk assessment to weigh the balance between the potential risks and benefits of the proposed intervention (World Report, 2013).
The healthcare providers should select the intervention with least risks involved to gain particular benefits. The other issue is that of disclosure and non-disclosure. Telling truth highlights the challenges attained when deciding the course of action. This is because the healthcare providers are required to avoid distress and simultaneously maintain patient’s autonomy. Non-disclosure of patient’s safety issues erodes patient trust and undermines professional integrity. The ethical dilemma arises in situations where the patient can suffer from anger and distress caused by the truth. Due to person’s cognitive deficits, it would be more humane for the healthcare providers to evade or give partial answers to some questions (World Report, 2013).
The issue of restraint also arises as it affects the person’s freedom. In some cases, restraint arises because of safety measures such as preventing them from falling, or for safety of others especially if a person is perceived as a threat. The most common form of restraint used in healthcare is physical restraint where straps and lap belts are used to control the patient is behaving aggressively. This is an ethical dilemma as it significantly affects the emotional risks and vicious cycle. This could lead to more serious impacts such as accidents and pressure sores. The mental capacity Act governs that restraint should be done only to prevent harm (Social Care, n.d.).
The most common dilemma in Silver Meadow is more aligned with the patient autonomy. This is because the patient choices could be putting the patient at high risk, which lives the staff with no other obligation other than violating the patients wish. However, in such scenarios, it is important to explore with the patient the most effective care, merits and demerits, to convince them on quality care that is most effective (Kennedy, 2013).
Task 2.4
Noncompliance of the quality standards in healthcare are associated with numerous demerits such as permanent disabilities or even loss of life. Noncompliance implies that the working environment is not safe and the workforces are prone to accidents and injuries. This lowers the workforce morale and id associated with low productivity (World Report, 2013). Research indicates that the work related injuries in the healthcare facilities have continued to reduce. This is associated with better reporting of the incidences, thus new strategies are achieved. However, it cannot be denied that there are some laxities in the healthcare system. This is due to poor monitoring of the healthcare facility, reduced staff training and low emphasis on quality care (Social Care, n.d).
At the organizational level, the noncompliance to the study of quality as well as safety regulations could result in loss of operating contracts which is associated with reduced trust in the organization. It can also lead to ruined business reputation of the healthcare facility, where the employees feel lost and not proud to be associated with the healthcare facility (World Report, 2013). This results into high turnover rates. Thus, the healthcare facility must impose more strict measures to ensure that safety standards are followed to the later, and where a staff fails to follow these regulations, they face stringent fines or even terminated from their place of work (RCN, 2014).
Task 3.1
Health and safety practises are monitored and reviewed by federal enforcement agencies. The United States government has put in place significant measures to guarantee that there is indeed proper actualization of medical professionalism and the reduction of risk in procedure, health care environments as well as the employees in these environments. It is crucial that there be regular inspection of health facilities to ascertain and assess cleanliness standards in health care centres in the United States. It is also vital that there be regular check up on all medical professionals to ascertain that they are within the right frame of thinking and can go about their work professionally. This is done through compulsory association exams and psychic evaluations.
The monitoring activities at Silver Meadows should also include auditing of the safety measures program is important as it enables identify the gap, and in identifying methods that incorporates the obligations as well as the legal standards of the healthcare facility (World Report, 2013). Examples of the monitoring strategies include the Safety Monitoring System (SMS). The Safety Monitoring System is a protocol that assesses aspects of safety based on risk factors associated with hospital assets such as the state of the beds, the floor and the number of persons working and admitted at the hospital. This gives a picture of the state of the hospital at the time.
By conducting effective internal evaluations, hospitals and other institutions such as Silver Meadows are able to know the state of their staff and assets at all time. Human resources departments need to be especially on the lookout for certain changes in procedure or behaviour among the employees. This makes it a concern for all to try and achieve such milestones.
Task 3.2
Health policies promote a favourable environment at the work place due to significant investment in the welfare of the people in the hospital facilities, research centres and facilities where medical testing and drug equipment are abound. Research is important even in the enactment of the very policies applied to an institution for they need to be institution-specific. However, the major impacts of these policies often result in more revenues for the health canters, better working conditions for the nurses, doctors and other assistants as well as minimizing the risk of contamination. Contamination is a serious concern at hospitals because there are always risks associated with airborne and vector-borne diseases. The hospital is a very potential threat areas for infections and re-infections thus health and safety policies do minimize these risks a great deal.
The Silver Meadow facility is responsible in exerting safety culture within the organization. The leaders are the role models and must remain knowledgeable and confident about the safety issues. This way, they lead the healthcare facility by example, and solve these conflicts amicably. One of the strategies is through the establishment of teamwork in the society (World Report, 2013). This boosts the staff Morales and increases the productivity of a facility. This improves staff retention, which increases productivity and low cost. For instance, the Silver Meadow must ensure that risk assessments are conducted in all lifting materials, to evaluate the risks that can be associated with these lifting materials. Integrating the safety culture with staff will ensure that they assess safety issues, thus the service users and the service providers remain safe as the organization will seek for the most effective strategy to address potential risks identified (Rasheed, Hetherington, & Irvine, 2014).
Task 3.3
As a health care professional, one has to be very cognisant with the environment they are in. This helps them assist in developing the needs of the organization and guaranteeing that all measures in safety and health are observed. It is practically impossible for a healthcare professional to be involved with fellow nurses or doctors without impacting on their health and safety concerns. A possible area where a lot of investment in human resource needs to be done is the area of counselling. Counselling is a very important aspect of the medical profession. Doctors are human as well and their health should be taken to be as a major concern as well. This is why counselling should establish social, emotional and economic challenges these people face.
From the study, I have noted few areas that I thought were the wisest steps, yet were the most risky activity. From this study, the importance of evidence based research is emphasised, which must be followed always (World Report, 2013). Healthcare employees have a legal responsibility to take care of the health and safety of the others that may have been affected by their activities. For instance, a healthcare professional with a certain disorder that may put the rest of the personnel at the hospital in risky situations is obliged to report this case and have it assessed. The healthcare staff should use systems and follow procedures correctly. It is also the staff responsibility to report flaws and presence of gaps in the system that could compromise health and safety of an individual and others. The staffs share their responsibility with their employers to ensure safety of all people using the services.
It is crucial that when one healthcare professional notices a concern in a colleague that they report this concern promptly. Reporting issues as they are noticed is not a way to victimize but to help those who may need some sort of help. There should thus be a strong welfare community within a healthcare centre to ensure that at the end of the day, it is only the things that one cannot notice that are left out. Taking safety in healthcare to be a serious concern does help mitigate a lot of risks associated with medical and healthcare environments. This is why not only should it be considered a necessity but as an obligation.
Conclusion
Most of the challenges faced in healthcare are associated with communication processes. It is beneficial to explore the process of communication to understand on how it affects the healthcare stakeholders in delivery of their services. Most of the healthcare staffs do not even understand the legal frameworks that govern the process of transferring information within the healthcare and the social care settings. It is important to understand that communication within the organization should lie within the context of the healthcare job role, and the principle of confidentiality of information must be supported. The Silver Meadow facility is responsible in exerting safety culture within the organization. The leaders are the role models and must remain knowledgeable about the safety issues. This way, they lead the healthcare facility by example, and solve these conflicts amicably. One of the strategies is through the establishment of teamwork in the society. This boosts the staff esteem and increases the productivity of a facility.
References
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