Legislation, policies and procedures in relation to health and social care Essay

Legislation is defined as the processor act of making law or a set of laws by the governing body of the country. They are set in place in every work setting to ensure the health and safety of the people within the area. Without these laws there would be many accidents that could harm both the employee and employer. Safety (General food hygiene) Regulations 1995 This act ensures that all food is handled correctly, the area where food is prepared must be clean, hands must be watched, hair should be covered and separate work areas should be used to prevent contamination of cooked and raw food. Following this regulation is especially important in health and social care settings such as schools, where young children are especially vulnerable to illness. All equipment, such as chopping boards and knives should be cleaned after every use to prevent contamination. Food staff should be well trained and know that food should stored and packed separately to prevent contamination. The Safety Regulation act simply enforces that all food should be prepared, stored and transported as safely and as hygienically possible. Food Safety Act 1990 The food safety act of 1990 ensures that all food is not tampered with anyway that could damage the health of people eating it, and that all food is labelled, advertised and presented in a way that is not false or misleading. This act prevents people from selling food that is not regularly eaten, it also protects the values of many people and agrees with many religious beliefs, it ensures that all food is sold with a label that states exactly what it is, for example; a butcher is not allowed to label his meat as halal if it is not halal meat. Without this regulation people could be sold food that could infect a customer with food poisoning. Fire Evacuation The Fire evacuation policy states that all public buildings have accessible fire alarms so that in the event of a fire the whole building can be alerted  and evacuated. As soon as the fire is discovered the Fire Evacuation Policy states that the fire department and medical services be called by the countries national emergency number (999 in the UK). In many schools and other work settings there are fire drills every few weeks to ensure that the children/employees are aware of the evacuation procedure. Upon hearing the fire alarm, students/employees leave the building as quickly, quietly and organised as possible, the policy states that the last person out of the room should make sure the room is locked and lights turned off to alert everyone that the room has already been cleared. As the building is being evacuated people should be directed to their designated assembly points, these assembly points are normally large open areas where the fire is not easily spread to. Storage and dispensing of medicines The main objective of this policy is to ensure safe and effective systems for the supply, storage and administration of drugs throughout the work setting and to ensure the health and wellbeing of service users. This policy ensures that all medicines are stored correctly according to instruction, as medicine that has deteriorated could potentially be life threatening. This policy is very important in work settings such as schools and hospitals, because it states that all stocks of medicine are kept to a certain minimum for routine needs and unforeseeable emergencies. The policy also ensures that all medicine is regularly restocked and any unused medicine which has reached its expiration date should be disposed of at once. This is to prevent people from getting what could be even more life threatening illness’. Cleaning Cleaning is an important part of life as it ensures that any harmful bacteria/substances are removed from the body/facility. Cleaning is especially important in work place settings such as schools and hospitals. In schools, children tend to drop things and leave things on the floor without thinking of the consequences, this can cause to problems such as tripping and falling which can cause serious injury. Public facilities should be cleaned regularly everyday to prevent the spread of illness/disease. For example in a public library, all computers should be  kept clean as many people use them without washing their hands. Keeping a clean home is also just as important as keeping public places clean, as it provides a clean and bacteria-free environment. Cleaning is also a display of personal hygiene, by taking a shower everyday and brushing our teeth twice a day. Health and Safety at Work act 1974. This act states is set in every work place and is set to ensure maximum safety of both employee/employer. The health and safety act prevents people from bringing in potentially harmful items and substances (such as weapons and drugs). This act enforces all legislations and acts, it provides the employees and employers and anyone else a safe environment to work in – this means that any machinery or equipment is carefully checked through before and after use. Employers must also do thorough background checks about the person as well as doing a CRB check with the government. This act requires checks such as risk assessment to take place, in a school, the teacher must make sure that the floor is clear of any debris that could potentially trip up or make someone fall. Risk assessment is a key factor in this act as it is the quickest method of identifying and removing risks.