- Published: September 29, 2022
- Updated: September 29, 2022
- University / College: University of Virginia
- Language: English
- Downloads: 11
A hazardous substance in the workplace is something that can cause health problems to me, service users and other staff members, a hazardous substance that is identified as corrosive, toxic or an irritant. Disinfectant, acid, bleach and natural substances such as bacteria, urine, vomit, faeces’ and blood are all in this group of hazards. When I am at work my employer has to protect me from these by supplying the protective garments that I need for example gloves, aprons, over shoes, mask and they are abiding by the law by providing these. The care home where I work has a COSHH cupboard as well as a COSHH file this must always be kept locked due to health and safety policies and procedures and whenever I go in it I must make sure I lock it afterwards. Due to the nature of work I do I can access whenever I need to, on the file it tells me what is in there and what sort of effects they have when in use e. g. ventilation needed, skin burns if comes into contact, and the procedures to follow if an emergency occurs while using them e.
g. run under cold running water. All this information is found on the manufacturing instructions and on the file itself. I must always make sure that I never put liquids or chemicals in any unmarked containers because this could be a hazard to someone else.
Constantly filling in the COSHH file and making sure that no bottles are placed unlabeled is a good way of safe guarding the staff and everyone else that has access to the COSHH cupboard. If none of these policies for safe guarding was n place there could be serious accidents that could even result in death. With these policies and practices in place even if I left this place of work and went into a new work place I would already know about the new place COSHH cupboard because they would be following the same guide lines. Where I work there is a plan on the wall of upstairs and downstairs there are 6 different coloured and labelled zones, there is also a panel downstairs with each zones number matching to the wall plan, this indicates different parts of the home where a potential fire may occur. If a light flashes in any particular zone it is my responsibility to sound the alarm and go to the inside assembly point. On the way to the assembly point I must make sure that all fire doors are closed to prevent the fire from spreading. Once at the fire point the manager/ senior will check all staff is there by going through a register. The manager/senior will then take one carer with them to panel and will then go to the zone that is flashing to assess the fire.
The manager/ senior and carer will then return back to the designated inside assembly point and let the other carers know. By the time they have assessed the level of the fire the fire brigade is already on the way. Once they fire brigade arrive they then are taken to the fire by the manager/senior depending on how bad it is and they will assess it. The manager/ senior will hopefully be able to tell the fire brigade marshal how the fire will have been caused so they know how to deal with it. The marshal will let the staff know when to go back into the main building, depending on how bad the fire is the marshal will say whether the staff need to make their way to the outside assembly point, under no circumstances should the staff evacuate the service users unless the marshal says differently if this happens a carer is assisted by a member of the fire brigade. If everyone is evacuated to the outside designate fire assembly point the manager/senior will then check as people arrive to know who is out of the building and who is still to come.
There are labelled signs around the care home directing people to fire exits. There is a fire safety procedure manual which explains it all and is kept in the main office where all staff has access. Also to prevent any more hazards all chemicals and combustible items are kept safely locked away the manager/senior will ensure the fire brigade know where the COSHH cupboard is so they know whether it is any sense a danger as to how close the fire is to it.