Health and Safety in Care Homes by Safety Consultants
In addition to the responsibilities care home employers have to their employees, they are also responsible
for the health and safety of people who do not work for them but may be affected by the care homes
activities. These include service users or clients, volunteers and work experience, and contract employees
working on the premises.
Some of the most common areas where accidents and instances of ill-health are occurring, and where our
health and safety consultants regularly advise clients, include:
Manual Handling of Service Users
Our health and safety consultants regularly advise clients to:
-
Ensure that they have provided all the relevant lifting equipment e.g. hoists, and that
their staff have been trained in there use and that they have been suitably inspected
at the prescribed intervals.
- Each service user has had their individual lift plan assessed and implemented.
-
All staff have been trained in the correct manual handling techniques to adopt and in
what circumstances they should be applied.
Slips, Trips and Falls
The majority of workplace injuries within the care sector are as a result of slips; trips and
falls, so our health and safety consultants pay particular attention in helping our clients
avoid them. In addition to floor coverings being suitable for the environment that they are
used in, slip resistant covering will also be needed in areas that are likely to become wet
e.g. bathrooms and kitchens. Staff should also ensure that general pedestrian traffic routes
are kept clear of obstructions and maintained accordingly. A lot more slips are likely to
happen than trips and they are mainly due to:
- Recently cleaned smooth floor surfaces being left wet
- Spillages not being cleaned up adequately
- Failing to keep floors free from any contamination.
Other items to consider with regards to health and safety in care homes include:
- Do you have a documented fire risk assessment and fire emergency plan for the premises?
- Has a suitable legionnaires assessment been undertaken?
- Are your portable electrical appliances and installation maintained periodically?
- Are staff suffering from latex allergies as a result of wearing latex gloves?
To discuss your requirements and find out more about health and safety in care homes; please contact
us on 08444 933 062 and ask to speak to one of our health and safety consultants.