Scenario: Hartford Grange is a residential care home for 15 older people who have various impairments including dementia, strokes and arthritis. Hartford Grange is an old Victorian house set in its own gardens on a busy road. The new manager has asked you to create a report on the potential hazards and harm they may cause. She also asked you to create a booklet for new staff that covers how legislation, policies and procedures influence health and safety at Hartford Grange and promotes the safety of the individuals in the setting.
For this task I will explain six potential hazards in a health and social care setting. There are potential hazards in the Hartford Grange residential home, these shards affect all the people working and living in the residential care setting. There are loads of hazards which can be found in every surface of the care setting. Hazards Harms that may arise Slippery floor The harm that may arise is either a service user or a member of staff slipping and hurting themselves. i. E. Recaptures, sprains, cuts and bruises. This is once again more harmful towards people suffering with arthritis as it will just make pains worse and if someone suffering from strokes slips on the floor it may cause them shock or fright that ca possibly trigger of another stroke or make the previous offering worse. Objects left on the floor The harm this may cause is a person tripping over and hurting themselves or if the object has any sharp edges there is a possibility they may cut themselves.
This is even more serious for people with arthritis as it will cause them immense pain. Equipment blocking fire exits This can be harmful as it may prevent service users and members of staff getting out in time when there is a fire. Also if a service user suffering from dementia is told to leave through the fire exit and it is blocked it will quite possibly confuse them. This is also dangerous for the staff working the Hartford House as it will be much harder for them to get residents and themselves out safely.
Also , the residents will breath in the smoke if it takes too long and since their lungs are not as strong due to being to fragile, it can easily cause death. And if there is anyone suffering from asthma and their inhaler is not in reach and no one can go get it for them, this can also be highly dangerous. Poor Lighting This can be very hazardous to the residents who are visually impaired, due to their poor vision, the staff at Hartford Grange are responsible for taking special are of these residents e. G. Y making sure that there is a good contrast between objects and surroundings such as dark doors in white surrounding or else if the area is dark and difficult to see the visually impaired patient would then be at great risk of possibly falling over or bump into something sharp causing themselves serious harm or fracture. Equipment not functioning and placed correctly Equipment that is not functioning or placed correctly e. G. Cord pulls for call help systems, not within easy reach of the residents who may be in wheelchairs ay have the residents overstretching and this may cause them to fall.
Another example would be if the residents which have arthritis have a sudden serious cramp and fall over, an out of reach cord pull is useless to them if they are trying to call for help. Busy road near by The risk of road traffic accidents may be likely to occur if residents with dementia get confused, they may become disorientated and get lost. Along with this there are people who suffer from arthritis, which means they may possibly walk slower than normal and this can be an issue when walking along a busy road.
