Health And Social Care Level 3 Unit 3 P3

Understand potential hazards in Health and
Social Care Assignment
Introduction
In this unit I will explain six potential hazards in a Health and Social Care setting. These hazards in the Health and Social Care setting can all affect the people working in that environment; there are a lot of hazards which can be found in every surface of the setting. In a residential or day care setting, much is done to ensure that service users, and therefore staff as well, are protected from harm. The group of users I have chosen are elderly people with Dementia and the environment I will be assessing is a Care Home. The hazards that I have chosen to write about are very different as some hazards are safety hazards and security hazards etc. I will write about
The equipment could consist of wheelchairs, hoists, electrical equipment or even a bed. If something were to happen; for example, a carer not using a hoist correctly, then the service user could be at risk of developing bruises and minor or major cuts, in some extensive cases the patient could even end up being crushed by the hoist. Sometimes, it will not always be the carers fault, the hoist could be used without a carer knowing it is broken. The possible causes of a service user being hurt by a hoist could be because of the lack of maintenance and thorough examination or the patient could get caught between two different moving parts. This is a hazard for elderly people because when you get older, your bones become fragile and even the slightest fall could result in a major injury. To prevent this from happening, the Care Home should ensure that all equipment (even the least important) should have maintenance checks to make sure all equipment is fully working and even the slightest error with equipment should be checked over and fixed IMMEDIATELY. If their equipment is likely to break and get damaged then the Care Home should invest in some better quality hoists from somewhere that is a well known brand. If a service user is at risk with the equipment then the Care Home could therefore risk being sued by the family of that service user because the patient could get seriously
The possible causes of this happening could be that the floor is wet where the cleaners have washed the floor and not put anything there, such as a sign to show it is wet. However, if an elderly person has dementia, then they will not understand why there may be a sign on the floor, therefore the Care Home must think of a different way to show that the floor is wet; for example, a carer could assist the patient at all times when walking around in places that have washed floors and tell them that the floors are wet. Another possible cause could be electrical cables being left lying around on the floor which could then result in the cable wrapping itself around a patient which will give them a high risk of tripping over. This is a hazard to elderly people because as I said in my third hazard, an elderly persons bones become fragile and can break easily, therefore the carers must ensure that all equipment, even the smallest should be tidied away and kept clear from ALL patients. To prevent a slip, trip or fall from happening then the carers should continuously tidy up any equipment that could become a hazard. Also to prevent an elderly person with dementia from slipping on a wet floor then the cleaners in the Care Home could clean the floors when all of the patients are having their lunch or even in bed because this will then allow them to have enough time to clean the floors and the rooms that