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HCS33-Environmental Health and Hygiene Policy

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Registration Number: {{org_field_registration_no}}

Environmental Health and Hygiene Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to provide a clear, safe, and effective framework for maintaining high standards of environmental hygiene and health within the delivery of home care services. At {{org_field_name}}, we recognise that poor hygiene or unclean environments can pose significant health risks, especially to older people, those with chronic conditions, compromised immune systems, or mobility limitations.

This policy sets out our commitment to ensuring cleanliness, infection prevention, food safety, and environmental risk management in the homes of the people we support. It outlines the roles and responsibilities of staff in preventing the spread of infection, protecting wellbeing, and complying with legal and regulatory requirements.

This policy reflects and supports compliance with the following legislation, standards and guidance, as amended from time to time:

2. Scope

This policy applies to all staff of {{org_field_name}} involved in the delivery of care and support within people’s homes, including:

It applies to all activities where hygiene, infection control, and environmental risk management are relevant—such as food preparation, personal care, cleaning, handling waste, and supporting individuals in maintaining a clean and safe home environment.

3. Related Policies

This policy should be read in conjunction with:

4. Policy Statement

{{org_field_name}} is committed to maintaining the highest standards of hygiene and environmental safety in the homes of the people we support. We understand that a clean, hygienic, and safe home environment contributes directly to health, dignity, comfort, and quality of life.

We promote a proactive and preventative approach to environmental health and hygiene by ensuring that:

5. Hygiene Standards in the Home

As we deliver care in people’s private homes, we respect their personal preferences while ensuring a safe and hygienic environment is maintained, especially when tasks involve food, personal care, or wound management.

Our approach includes:

Where a home presents a risk to health (e.g., due to clutter, pests, damp, or excessive waste), this is flagged to management. With the person’s consent, support may be sought from housing services, social work, or environmental health officers.

Where the condition of the home creates a significant risk to the person, staff or others, staff must not attempt to manage the risk informally or in isolation. The concern must be recorded, discussed with the person and, where appropriate, their representative, and escalated to the line manager the same working day. A proportionate plan must then be agreed, which may include review of the personal plan, referral to relevant professionals or agencies, temporary adjustment of tasks, additional equipment or PPE, or, in exceptional circumstances, temporary suspension of elements of care that cannot be delivered safely until risks are reduced.

6. Infection Prevention and Control

Infection prevention and control procedures are central to this policy. Staff must work in accordance with the National Infection Prevention and Control Manual (NIPCM), including standard infection control precautions at all times and any additional precautions identified through assessment, national guidance or individual circumstances.

All care workers must:

Where the service uses any product, process or local procedure that differs from the NIPCM, this must be supported by a documented risk assessment and approved governance process.

All staff are trained in basic and additional precautions, including managing infections such as:

6.1. Staff Health, Fitness to Work and Exposure Incidents

Staff must be fit to work and must not place people at avoidable risk of infection. Staff must inform the service promptly if they have symptoms of infectious illness, a diagnosed infection, or a significant exposure incident that may affect their fitness to work safely.

The service will provide clear guidance on exclusion from work, return-to-work arrangements, occupational exposure incidents, and escalation to occupational health, NHS services or public health advice where appropriate.

Needle-stick injuries, blood and body fluid exposure incidents, significant contamination events, and any other exposure incidents must be managed immediately in line with first aid, IPC procedures, medical advice pathways and incident reporting requirements.

Where an incident is reportable under RIDDOR, the Registered Manager or delegated person will ensure the required report is made within the applicable timescale.

7. Food Hygiene and Kitchen Safety

When assisting with shopping, food preparation, meal support or reheating food in a person’s home, staff must follow safe food hygiene practice appropriate to the task being carried out. This includes:

Where staff identify a serious food safety concern in the home, this must be recorded and escalated. The response may include immediate disposal of clearly unsafe food with the person’s agreement, review of support arrangements, referral to family/representatives or professionals, and revision of the personal plan and risk assessment.

8. Safe Disposal of Waste

Waste generated during care tasks must be handled, segregated, stored and disposed of in a way that protects the person, staff, family members, waste handlers and the wider public.

Staff must:

The service will work with the person, family, prescribers, district nursing services, local authority and waste contractors where required to make sure safe disposal arrangements are in place.

9. PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)

PPE is essential in protecting both staff and the people we support from infection or cross-contamination. All care staff are provided with appropriate PPE including:

PPE will be selected on the basis of the task, likely exposure, the person’s needs, and current infection prevention guidance. The service will ensure PPE is:

Staff and workers must use PPE correctly, report shortages, loss or defects immediately, and never reuse single-use PPE.

9.1. Cleaning Products, Chemicals and COSHH

Cleaning and disinfecting products used by the service must be risk assessed and used in accordance with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH), manufacturer instructions and service procedures.

The service will:

Staff must not use unknown, unlabelled or decanted products supplied in the home unless safe identification and instructions are available and use has been risk assessed. Concerns about unsafe products or storage in the home must be reported and recorded.

10. Environmental Risk Assessments

Every home visited by staff is subject to an Environmental Risk Assessment, carried out during the initial care assessment or review. The assessment considers:

Where risks are identified, the service must assess their severity and immediacy, agree proportionate control measures with the person and, where appropriate, their representative, and record these in the personal plan, environmental risk assessment and any related staff guidance. Risk assessments must be reviewed when circumstances change, after incidents, after infection concerns, and at routine review intervals. The service will take a risk-enablement approach wherever possible, balancing safety with the person’s rights, preferences, independence and dignity.

11. Staff Training and Monitoring

All staff at {{org_field_name}} receive hygiene and environmental safety training as part of their induction. This includes:

Training is refreshed at planned intervals and sooner where guidance changes, risks increase, learning from incidents identifies need, or competence concerns arise. The service uses supervision, observations, spot checks, audits and learning reviews to monitor practice and improve consistency.

12. Working with Families and Representatives

We work in partnership with families, representatives, and other professionals to maintain safe and healthy home environments. We:

All advice and interventions are recorded in the person’s care plan, and support is delivered in a way that respects dignity and avoids stigma or judgement.

Where the person’s ability to make or communicate decisions is reduced, the service will involve any representative, attorney, guardian, advocate or relevant professional in line with the law and the person’s rights. Support will be planned and delivered using the least restrictive approach possible.

13. Continuous Improvement and Learning

Environmental health and hygiene are monitored as part of our quality assurance programme. This includes:

Lessons learned are shared across the team, and updates to best practice are promptly implemented through revised guidance, training, or care planning processes.

14. Recording, Incident Reporting and Notifications

The service must maintain accurate, contemporaneous records relating to environmental hygiene and health risks. This includes relevant entries in personal plans, risk assessments, daily notes, handovers, incident forms, cleaning/decontamination records where used, and supervision or audit records.

Staff must record and report without delay:

The Registered Manager, or delegated person, will make notifications to the Care Inspectorate and any other relevant body where required by law or guidance, including notifications relating to outbreaks of infectious disease, significant incidents or protection concerns.

15. Policy Review

This policy is reviewed annually by the Registered Manager and Nominated Individual, or sooner if required by changes in legislation, public health advice, or internal audit findings. All staff are informed of updates and must acknowledge understanding and compliance.

Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}}{{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}
Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}
Next Review Date: {{next_review_date}}
Copyright © {{current_year}} – {{org_field_name}}. All rights reserved.

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