CH148. Health and Safety Training in Care Homes
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Health and Safety Training in Care Homes (England) Policy
General Statement
In order to secure the health and safety of all employees, the organisation requires all of its staff to complete certain statutory and mandatory health and safety training which will ensure their safety and wellbeing while at work.
Training will commence on the first day of employment so that employees are familiar with basic procedures once they are at their place of work. This training will be in line with the Care Certificate. Thereafter, employees will be expected to attend regular updates and will be provided with adequate health and safety training on their being exposed to new or increased risks because of a change of job, work equipment, system of work, etc.
This “refresher” training will be repeated periodically as necessary and will cover health and safety risks, control measures, emergency measures, and risks presented by other workers sharing the workplace. The person responsible for health and safety training in {{org_field_name}} is ____________.
Health and Safety Training in Induction
All new staff must complete an induction programme when they begin work with the organisation.
The health and safety component of induction training will contain the following.
Organisation health and safety policy
The contents of the organisation’s policy statement will be covered in detail (including the responsibilities set out in the policy) and will enable the employee to become acquainted with the organisational arrangements.
Accident reporting procedures/first aid
This will cover the action to take when an accident has occurred, the person to be informed and where to go for first-aid treatment (this section will also cover the organisation’s procedure for the investigation of accidents, and the reporting procedure will be explained so that the employee is aware of what will happen when an accident occurs).
Fire procedures and precautions
This section covers action to be taken when the fire alarm sounds and will include:
- the location of the fire exit
- the assembly point
- the responsible person the employee must report to
- further instructions on the action to be taken in the event of discovering a fire
- evacuation procedures.
Introduction to safety legislation
The employee will be introduced to the legislation that applies to the organisation and the workplace, eg:
- Health and Safety at Work, etc Act 1974 (essential)
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (essential)
- Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992
- Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992
- Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Occupational health
Information on occupational health will be provided so that employees are aware of any health surveillance required for their work activity.
Site safety rules
This section will cover the organisation and departmental safety rules.
Safety procedures
Induction programmes will not only include core statutory and mandatory training that are required of all staff, but specific safety procedures and safe schemes of work that are important to ensure the safe working of individual staff or groups of staff completing certain tasks. Examples include clerical and cleaning staff, who must complete specific training in the safety of their work tasks and working environment.
Staff will be expected to keep up to date with their safety responsibilities and attend refresher training as required. For staff who move from one role to another, and where additional or new safety procedures are involved, sufficient training will be provided.
Resources
A range of resources will be provided to support health and safety training.
Written information will be provided on the subjects covered in the training programme. This may be in the form of course notes or an employee’s handbook. Employees can then review the information if they are unsure of any section of the training.
Evaluation and review
All health and safety training systems will be regularly evaluated and reviewed to ensure their effectiveness and to ensure that all risks are covered by the programme, as far as is reasonably practicable.
Accident records, reports, near miss reports, and incident reports, will be regularly evaluated and the results used to inform the health and safety training programme and the induction programme.
Health and Safety Refresher Training
{{org_field_name}} will organise an annual programme of health and safety refresher training. A requirement to attend any of the courses will be agreed with each member of staff during their annual appraisal. The need to attend a specific course will then be added to their personal training plan.
The training programme that follows acts as a guide but will vary in content according to the needs of the individual care service. All training needs are reviewed regularly and at least annually to identify areas requiring “refreshment”. The programme is likely to include, where applicable, the following.
Course
Suitable for
Required frequency of attendance
Basic manual handling training
All staff
In line with the current training needs assessment and changes in the circumstances in which carers and assessors are working
Manual handling for people handling staff
All staff who are required to move or handle service users
Basic fire safety training
All staff
Annual
Fire evacuation
All staff
Annual
Advanced fire safety training
Fire wardens and managers
Annual
Personal safety and security
All staff
In line with risk assessments indicating further training needs
Infection control training
All care staff and cleaning staff
In line with service users’ situations reflecting infection control needs
Health and safety risk assessment
Managers and risk assessors
Every 1–2 years or as required by service users’ circumstances
COSHH training
Managers, risk assessors and staff who require an understanding of COSHH to perform their role safely
Every 2–3 years as a general rule
Food hygiene training
All cooks and food handlers
In line with the service provision
First-aid training — First Aid at Work (FAW) HSE certificated course and refresher
All staff identified as a qualified first aider where required
Full course, an annual refresher for the first and second years and a revalidation course every third year
A record will be kept in individual staff records of attendance at courses.
{{org_field_name}} will ensure the following.
- All staff whether employed whole or part time, or in a bank or voluntary capacity, will be responsible for ensuring that their own health and safety training is up to date. They should alert their line manager when their training is due to expire at the time of their appraisal.
- Line managers and supervisors will check the health and safety training records of their reporting staff on a regular basis. It is the responsibility of all supervisory staff and line managers to ensure that all staff have attended and are up to date with the relevant health and safety training for their role. They must ensure staff are given the opportunity and protected time to attend training and that this is agreed at the time of their annual appraisal and reflected in their personal development plan.
- All staff will be expected to set a high priority to health and safety training and to make every effort to attend training events provided and arranged for this purpose. If they fail to attend a booked training session, they must report this to their line manager or supervisor providing reasons for their non-attendance. Failure to attend on more than one occasion other than for reasons of ill health will require a review with the line manager to identify problems and produce an action plan.
- Line managers and supervisors should follow up those who have not attended their required health and safety training to investigate why and to ensure another training date is arranged as soon as possible.
- Line managers must ensure that all staff working in the immediate work environment for which they are responsible are fully trained in compliance with relevant health and safety legislation.
Night Staff
Night staff, where employed, are expected to attend health and safety training in the same way as other staff. In order to facilitate this, line managers will discuss with them mutually convenient ways to ensure that training courses are accessible.
Volunteers and Non-employed Staff
{{org_field_name}} recognises its responsibility to ensure, as far as is reasonably possible, the safety of all volunteers as well as the safety of those staff who are not directly employed by the organisation, such as temporary agency staff.
A risk assessment will be completed for all volunteers and non-employed staff and appropriate health and safety training arranged to cover any identified risks. Volunteers and non-employed staff will be invited to induction training and ongoing health and safety training programmes as appropriate. Records will be kept of their attendance in the same way as employed staff.
All volunteers and non-employed staff must be given local induction training when they first start work, including fire safety and evacuation procedures. All volunteers and non-employed staff should also be made aware of the home’s health and safety policies and procedures.
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}}
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