1.1 As a health care support worker I have a responsibility to make sure my own actions don’t affect the health and safety of others.I need to think, prevent and control infection. The health and safety at work act 1974 states we must take care of our own safety and others, follow employers instructions regarding health and safety, not damage health and safety equipment and materials, attend regular training. I do this by disposing of waste correctly, washing hands, cleaning equipment correctly, maintaining a clean working environment, decontaminating equipment after use, maintaining personal hygiene, washing hands between patients, clean PPE for each patient, I am to be vigilant and aware of potential hazards and inform staff or ward sister of any suspected risks. I am also to attend regular infection prevention and control training and keep it up to date also embed the importance of infection prevention and control and promote good practice. Policies and procedures are in place relating to infection prevention and control and must be followed and adhered to.
1.2 Employers responsibilities in the relation to the prevention and control of infection are to keep everybody safe and to provide a safe work place, they do this by following current legislation. The Health Board is committed to ensuring that infection prevention and control is a priority. Risk assessments relating to infection prevention and control are carried out, they are to provide relevant equipment to enable you to prevent and control infection also identify and distribute relevant information about infection hazards and prevention and control methods, posters are put in place promoting hand hygiene with hand gels to hand to encourage everyone within the ward area to use ie staff, doctors, patients and visitors, provide PPE. Employers are to send their staff for regular infection prevention and control training, they also work closely with the infection control team based within the hospital and provide in-house training for Standard Infection prevention and control Precautions (SICP).
2.1 Current legislation and regulatory body standards which are relevant to the prevention and control of infection are:
Health and safety at work act 1974.
The Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984.
Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulation 1988.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Act (amended 1994) Control of Substances Hazardous to Health COSHH 2002
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences RIDDOR 1995. Food safety act 1990.
The Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005.
Food hygiene regulation 2006.
Other new/current legislation that affects infection control.
Regulatory body standards include :
NICE - National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.
Other current Government and/or Health Department standards and guidelines.
Skills for Health Infection Control workplace competencies.
Other national standards and regulations that are current.
Local and organisational policies :
Health and safety policies.
Organisational infection control policies.
Any policies specific to role, industry or organisation e.g. food safety in food related areas.
2.2 Both employers and employees are responsible for their own actions in the workplace. All reasonable steps should be taken when carrying out your work duties and all staff should have adequate health and safety training, risk assessments are carried out and measures should be taken to ensure that any risk is prevented or minimised, policies and procedures are in place relating to preventing and controlling infection and must be adhered to thus preventing/minimising the risk of infection.
3.1 Procedures and systems relevant to the prevention of control infection are following risk assessments and...