Legislation Policies and Procedures

Describe how health and safety legislation, policies and procedures promote of individuals in a health or social care setting Health, Safety and security issues are extremely important in care settings in order to protect staff and children, and their families. Legislations and regulations ensure that guidelines are followed to enforce safety and security within an organisation. Legislation is law which has been created by a governing body.

Before a piece of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to as legislation while it remains under consideration to distinguish it from other business. Policies ensure that everyone must work within the law and meet the minimum care standards set out by the legislation. Finally, procedures are the steps that are needed to be followed to ensure everyone’s safety within the workplace.

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH, 2002), for example, requires employers to control substances that are hazardous to health such as toxic, corrosive or irritant chemicals like cleaning products or even bodily fluids. In a setting such as a Nursery, hazardous substances that are not stored properly and are easily accessible to children may cause consummation further poisoning or spilling on themselves. This hazard could be minimised by storing these substances in a high, possibly locked, area so that children are not likely to get a hold of them and harm themselves.

Also, the incorrect disposal of soiled nappies etc. can cause germs to spread and could cause infection or cross contaminations within the Nursery. This can be avoided by having a specific bin solely for the disposal of soiled nappies to ensure that harm cannot result from this. Ensure that all staff are trained on how to deal with an incident and giving them full information of the regulation because it helps them act quickly enough if there was to be an incident. The Food Safety Regulation Act (1995) makes sure there is a food hygiene standard in place in all businesses.

Illnesses and infections can be easily cause by someone, be it a child or member of staff, not washing their hands before eating or preparing food. This could be after changing a nappy, going to the toilet or playing outside. This risk can be minimised by making sure everyone washes their hands before eating and before, during and after preparing meals. Also, ensure that all equipment is clean and in good condition as this can also cause contamination if dealing with raw and cooked foods.

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulation (1995) requires employers to report injuries and dangerous occurrences as soon as they happen. In a nursery, broken furniture, broken toys and small objects can lead to injury or possibly death. Broken furniture can cause children to cut or graze themselves on the sharp break offs. Whereas with broken or unsuitable toys, children can swallow the object causing choking or death. This risk can be avoided by carrying out regular checks of the furniture and toys, making sure they are suitable for use with children. If not, then they should be disposed of efficiently.

With the Data Protection Act (1998), the nursery has to control and protect the handling of the personal information of children and parents. Recklessness and naivety can cause personal information being let out into the public eye. Staff writing down children’s or their parent’s personal details or opinions can end up open to public view. This can be minimised by making sure all data is kept secure on an internal wall, in a locked cupboard. Also, ensuring that all staff are trained to correctly deal with information and are aware of the consequences of recklessness can help lower the risk. www. hse. gov. uk www. foodstandards. gov