Health and Safety P1

Sharps- In a hospital health and social care setting needles are frequently being used in lots of different places and lots of them are actually used. It’s important to have a place where these used needles can be stored which is why now after a needle has been used it’s put into a ‘sharps box’. If all the sharps are kept in the box then it reduced the possible harm to service providers and users such as if a person was to come into contact with a used needle they could hurt themselves because it would be a short sharp pain as the needle penetrates the skin. If this was to happen then the person who has been pricked is at high risk of contracting diseases such as HIV/Aids and hepatitis B or C which could lead to a possible death. Hepatitis B can cause damage to the liver and like the other listed diseases there isn’t any cure, only painkillers can be prescribed to relieve symptoms.
Spread of infection- In a hospital it is full of people who are either ill or who are recovering from either an illness or an injury. Whilst being unwell they are most likely to contract other infections/diseases as they have low immune systems. In the hospital the beds are placed very closely together to enable more patients to be catered for so the chance of an infection spreading quickly is very high. If there was an illness already based within the hospital then the staff has to make sure that nobody enters the hospital and nobody leaves to stop a pandemic from arising as it could be serious and kill many. People are advised if they are unwell then to stay away from the hospitals anyway but some people take no notice of this and this is why infections are spread as easily as they are. If a terminally ill patient was to contract and infection then it could be the case of either life or death. (NHS, 2011)
Security-When working in a health and social care environment you are normally working with vulnerable people who need a service to be provided. This could be very young or