LO1 - Potential Hazards Flashcards
(30 cards)
Environmental Hazards
Hazards:
- Worn equipment
- Damaged equipment
Effects:
- Cause slip and trip hazards
–> Result in - Sprains, Bruising, Fractures, Being knocked unconscious
Biological Hazards
Hazards:
- Medical or other waste products not being disposed of correctly
- Poor levels of hygiene
Effects:
- Spread of infection
- Spread of disease
Chemical Hazards
Hazards:
- Medicines
- Cleaning materials
How are they hazards?
- Medicines- Incorrect dosage, Wrong medication, Unauthorised access
–> Cause serious health consequences
- Cleaning materials- Incorrectly stored, Incorrectly used
–> Cause serious physical harm
Psychosocial Hazards
Hazards:
- Stress
- Fatigue
How are they hazards?
- Long working hours
- Coping with challenging behaviour, violence, abuse from service users
- Bullying in the workplace
Physical Hazards
Hazards:
- Excessive loud noise at work
- Radiation from electromagnetic rays e.g. x-rays or gamma rays
Effects:
- Excessive loud noise at work- Ringing in the ears, Deafness, Other ear conditions
Musculoskeletal Hazards
Hazards:
- Manual handling
- Display screen equipment (DSE)
Effects
- Manual handling- Back injuries, Muscle injuries
- Display screen equipment (DSE)- Muscular aches and pains, Repetitive stress injuries (RSI)
Working Conditions Hazards
Hazards:
- Temperature e.g. too hot or too cold
- Noise levels too high
- Travel
Effects:
- Temperature- Dehydration, Exacerbate conditions e.g. asthma
- Noise levels too high- Long-term effects on hearing
- Travel- Stress, Tiredness
Working Practices Hazards
Hazards:
- Excessive working hours
- Lack of supervision for new staff or those taking on new tasks
Effects:
- Excessive working hours- Tiredness, Lack of concentration, Leading to mistakes and accidents
- Lack of supervision for new staff or those taking on new tasks- Serious physical injury
Lack of Security Systems Hazards
Hazards:
- Security not in place
- Security systems are faulty
Potential Impacts of Hazards
- Injury or harm
- Back injuries, slipped disc, injured muscles, musculoskeletal damage
- Chemical burns
- Cuts and bruises
- Deafness
- Fractures
- From intruders, burglars, terrorists
- Radiation
Potential Impacts of Hazards
- Illness
- Eye strain
- Food poisoning
- Headaches
- High blood pressure
- Infections
- Mental health
- MRSA
- Being unable to work leading to staff absence
Potential Impacts of Hazards
- Poor standards of care
Cause by employees who:
- Feel tired
- Forget to take medication on time
- Forget to provide fluids or food
- Lack of concentration
- Lack of time to do their job properly
Impacts on individuals who require care and support:
- Bed sores and pressure ulcers
- Bruising due to poor handling
- Dehydration
- Illness gets worse
- Malnutrition
Potential Impacts of Hazards
- Financial loss
- Loss of earnings due to time off work
- Loss of job
- Compensation being received/pursued
- Theft of personal money or belongings
What is intentional abuse?
Abuse that is deliberate.
Examples- Theft, Verbal abuse, Financial abuse, Sexual abuse, Physical abuse.
What is unintentional abuse?
Cause by a careless approach to tasks, by a lack of training to do a task correctly or a result of neglect.
Examples- Poor care of a patient leading to pressure sores, A patient suffering from dehydration due to their fluid intake not being monitored.
Physical abuse
Physical harm to an individual’s body for example hitting, restrictive practices and medication
Signs/Symptoms - Untreated or unexplained injuries including cuts, bruises, burns, bites, hair loss, etc
Domestic abuse
Threats, violence and abuse between individuals that are family members or in an intimate relationship
Signs/Symptoms - Signs of one or more of the other types of abuse or neglect
Sexual abuse
Sexual relationships or activities that an individual does not or cannot consent to
Signs/Symptoms - Pain or bruising around the inner thigh, anal or breast areas, Pain/discomfort when walking or sitting, Bloodstained underwear, Unexplained STIs or pregnancy
Emotional/psychological abuse
Threats, humiliation, controlling behaviour, blaming, verbal abuse, harassment, intimidation
Signs/Symptoms - Anxiety and depression, Lack of sleep, Poor self-esteem and self-confidence
Financial/material abuse
Use of an individual’s money or possessions without their permission and includes theft, fraud, scamming, coercion, self-serving involvement in an individual’s financial affairs
Signs/Symptoms - Not having enough money for bills or food, Expenditure appearing high, Missing possessions or money, Poor living conditions
Modern slavery
Individuals being forced into a life of slavery, human trafficking, domestic servitude, forced labour
Signs/Symptoms - Signs of other abuse such as physical, psychological, etc, Unable or unwilling to interact with others, Seemingly always in the company of others, Appearing to not know their surroundings, Having no or very few personal possessions
Discriminatory practice
Individuals being treated differently due to personal traits such as age, gender, race, sexual orientation, etc (PROTECTED CHARACTERISTICS)
Signs/Symptoms - Verbal abuse or harassment, Disrespect, Lack of person-centred approaches, Exclusion
Institutional/organisational abuse
When an organisation’s needs are put above an individual’s needs such as telling an individual that they have to go to bed at a certain time
Signs/Symptoms - Inflexibility, Poor staff knowledge and training, Non person-centred approaches, Poor standards
Self-neglect
An individual being unable to see to their own basic needs such as nutrition or hygiene
Signs/Symptoms - Malnutrition, Dehydration, Dirty clothes/bedding, Poor hygiene, Taking medication incorrectly, Bedsores
