Risk Assessment Report - Identify and describe relevant principles

Risk Assessment Report 

A- Identify and describe relevant principles, legislation, policies and procedures that promote safe working practices in health and social care

B- Use risk assessment frameworks to identify, explain and address hazards and risks that jeopardise the health and safety of stakeholders in the workplace

C- Evaluate approaches aimed at minimizing risk in the workplace, to improve and effectively promote safe working practices

The Assessment Task

Write a 2000-word risk assessment report based on the following case study: Mrs Brown is a 90-year-old woman, diagnosed with dementia. She has been in a care home for some time following a fall. She was assessed by an occupational therapist prior to her admittance into the care home and was found to be unable to stand or mobilise, despite maximum support from staff.

The assessment identified the need for a hoist with a small sized full-body sling for all transfers. The sling had not been detailed on her moving and handling care plan, which simply stated ‘hoist for all transfers plus two people’ Several other residents also required a small sized sling when being hoisted, so at times the slings were shared between residents and not always returned to the correct location.

On one occasion, Mrs Brown was being assisted with washing and dressing by two staff: one staff member had not been on duty for three weeks, and it was the other staff member’s first day working at the care home. As all hoists were in use with other residents and they had several other residents to tend to in a short period of time due to being short staffed, the two staff attempted to transfer Mrs Brown from the bed to the commode without a hoist. Mrs Brown protested that they were hurting her as they tried to lift her from the bed, which prompted the staff to stop the transfer. When the first hoist became available, they used this to transfer Mrs Brown from the bed to the commode, despite it having a medium sized sling. Once the sling was fitted, one staff member left the room to start assisting another resident, in order to complete their morning tasks more quickly.

During hoisting process, the sling tore apart, and Mrs Brown rapidly fell, striking her head on the base of the hoist.

Mrs Brown died as a result of her injuries, and the care home was subsequently prosecuted and fined £20,000 plus costs for failing to ensure her safety whilst under their care.