DN9K 04 (GEN3)Maintain Health and Safety in a Clinical/Therapeutic Environment

DN9K 04 (GEN3)Maintain health and safety in a clinical/therapeutic environment

About this Unit

This Unit covers the maintenance of health and safety in a clinical or therapeutic environment.

This includes control of cross-infection by ensuring effective cleaning rooms, work areas, equipment and surfaces when required and following agreed cleaning schedules, where appropriate. It also covers monitoring and maintaining the cleanliness of the environment and reporting shortfalls to the person in charge of the care area. Monitoring and adjusting environmental factors, assessing risk and managing and handling emergencies related to the clinical/therapeutic environment are also included.

Scope

The scope is here to give you guidance on possible areas to be covered in this Unit. The terms in this section give you a list of options linked with items in the performance criteria. You need to provide evidence for any option related to your work area.

Cleaning includes:

(a)cleaning the clinical work area before and after surgical procedures

(b)after discharge of patients

(c)or when a substance — such as body fluids — has been split

It involves using cleaning equipment relevant to the cleaning task.

Cleaning equipment includes that is used for manual and powered cleaning of the work area before and after surgical and therapeutic procedures.

Cleaning materials and agents include:

(a)disposable wipes

(b)disinfectants and detergents

Environmental emergencies include:

(a) fire

(b)water leaks

(c)chemical spillage

Environmental factors include:

(a)temperature

(b)light

(c)humidity

(d)ventilation

(e)pollutants

(f)ionising radiation and non-ionising radiation

Hazardous materials include:

(a)compressed gases

(b)chemicals

(c)ionising radiation

(d)infectious materials

(e)blood

(f)sharps and needles

Standard precautions and health and safety measures a series of interventions which will minimise or prevent infection and cross infection, including:

(a)hand washing/cleaning before during and after the activity

(b)use of personal protective clothing and additional protective equipment when appropriate

It also includes:

(a)handling contaminated items

(b)disposing of waste and untoward incident procedures

Waste, spillage and spoilage includes:

(a)room temperature

(b)refrigerated (ie 2-8 degrees)

(c)secured (eg in locked cupboard)

(d)in-patients secured locker — for self administration purposes

Evidence Requirements for the Unit

It is essential that you adhere to the Evidence Requirements for this Unit – please see details overleaf.

Specific Evidence Requirements for this Unit
Simulation:
 Simulation is permitted for the handling of environmental emergencies part of this Unit.
The following forms of evidence are mandatory:
 Direct observation: your assessor/expert witness must observe you in real work activities, which provide evidence for a significant number of the performance criteria for this unit. You should be maintaining the cleanliness of the clinical/therapeutic environment.
 Reflective accounts/professional discussion: these will be descriptions of your monitoring and maintaining the cleanliness of the environment and reporting shortfalls to the person in charge of the care area. Monitoring and adjusting environmental factors, assessing risk and managing and handling emergencies. You should be able to give examples of how you dealt with any problems encountered eg lack of stock, this should also include any record keeping and should refer to any current legislation or regulations.
Competence of performance and knowledge could also be demonstrated using a variety of evidence from the following:
 Questioning: may be used to provide evidence of knowledge, legislation, policies and procedures, which cannot be fully evidenced through direct observation or reflective accounts. In addition the assessor/expert witness may also ask questions to clarify aspects of your practice.
 Witness testimony: can be a confirmation or authentication of the activities described in your evidence that your assessor has not seen. This could be provided by a work colleague, or the person in charge of the clinical/therapeutic area.
 Work Products: these can be any records that you would normally use within your normal role eg individuals care plan, risk assessment, untoward incident record. Product evidence will be important for this unit. NB Confidential records are not required to be in your portfolio, they can remain where they are normally stored and checked by your assessors and verifier. If they are included they must be made anonymous.
 APL/Assignment/Project: you may have already completed a project or assignment from Vocationally Related Qualification; you may also have evidence from other training eg Health and Safety, Infection control, Personal Protective Clothing/equipment, Moving and Handling, recording and reporting. COSHH, communication.
General guidance
 Prior to commencing this Unit you should agree and complete an assessment plan with your assessor which details the assessment methods you will be using, and the tasks you will be undertaking to demonstrate your competence.
 Evidence must be provided for ALL of the performance criteria ALL of the knowledge and the parts of the scope that are relevant to your job role.
 The evidence must reflect the policies and procedures of your workplace and be linked to current legislation, values and the principles of best practice within Health and Care Settings. This will include the National Service Standard and/or Knowledge and Skills Framework for your areas of work and the individuals you care for.
 All evidence must relate to your own work practice.

Knowledge specification for this unit

Competent practice is a combination of the application of skills and knowledge informed by values and ethics. This specification details the knowledge and understanding required to carry out competent practice in the performance described in this unit.

When using this specification it is important to read the knowledge requirements in relation to expectations and requirements of your job role.

You need to provide evidence for ALL knowledge points listed below. There are a variety of ways this can be achieved so it is essential that you read the ‘knowledge evidence’ section of the Assessment Guidance.

You need to show that you know, understand and can apply in practice: / Enter Evidence Numbers
1A factual awareness of the current European and national legislation, national guidelines and local policies and protocols which affect your work practice in relation to maintaining health and safety in a clinical environment, including:
(a)health and safety at work
(b)safe working methods
(c)control of infection
(d)use of hazardous materials (COSHH)
(e)waste disposal
(f)use of medical devices and product liability
(g)security within the workplace
2A working understanding of your responsibilities and accountability in relation to the current European and national legislation, national guide lines and local policies and protocols.
3A factual awareness of the importance of working within your own sphere of competence and seeking advice when faced with situations outside your sphere of competence.
4A working understanding of the importance of applying standard precautions and the potential consequences of poor practice.
5A working understanding of the causes of infection and cross-infection.
6A working understanding of:
(a)exposure prone procedures in which additional protective equipment is needed
(b)the types of additional protective equipment available
(c)the suitability of different types of additional protective equipment for different situations
(d)the importance of wearing adequate and appropriate additional protective equipment
Risk assessment
7A working understanding of the risks which are present in clinical work areas and how they can be minimised.
8A working understanding of how to identify risk when planning work activities and undertaking work in a way which minimises them.
You need to show that you know, understand and can apply in practice: / Enter Evidence Numbers
9A working understanding of how to undertake a risk assessment in your clinical work area.
10A working understanding of the health, safety and security risks which may occur and the appropriate action to take when they do (eg take action oneself to limit the effect of the risk, call someone else more able to deal with the risk).
Waste and spillage
11A working understanding of the different types of waste and spillage, and the colour coded container for disposal of each type.
12A working understanding of the importance of correctly disposing of:
(a)non-clinical waste
(b)clinical waste
(c)single-use medical devices
(d)re-useable medical devices for processing
Cleaning
13A factual awareness of how the cleanliness of the clinical work area contributes to health and safety and infection control and the special requirements within your own work area.
14A working understanding of the times at which cleaning is required, and the extent of cleaning which should be undertaken.
15A factual understanding of the times when cleaning areas of the department would be inappropriate and the reasons for this.
16A working understanding of circumstances in which agreement to cleaning should be sought from another member of the team.
17A factual awareness of which cleaning equipment and materials should be used on different surfaces and for different cleaning tasks.
18A working understanding of methods of diluting cleaning agents, the importance of correct dilution, the potential consequences of incorrect dilution and the water temperature required for dilutions to be effective.
19A working understanding of safe methods for using and storing cleaning equipment and materials.
Environmental factors
20A working understanding of the relationship between patient care and desired levels of environmental factors.
21A working understanding of how to measure, adjust and maintain acceptable levels of temperature, light, humidity, ventilation, pollutants, ionising radiation and non-ionising radiation.
22A working understanding of the risks associated with radiation in the workplace.
23A working understanding of the radiation precautions undertaken in the workplace.
24A working understanding of the reporting procedures for breakdowns in levels of environmental factors.
25A working understanding of situations in which levels of environmental factors may need to be compromised.
You need to show that you know, understand and can apply in practice: / Enter Evidence Numbers
Handling environmental emergencies
26A working understanding of the different types of environmental emergencies that may occur in the clinical environment.
27A working understanding of the appropriate safety procedures for different kinds of emergencies.
28A working understanding of which type of fire extinguisher/blanket to use in each type of fire (electrical, chemical, combustible material).
Records and documentation
29A working understanding of the records that have to be kept in relation to health, safety and security.
30A working understanding of the importance of completing records accurately, legibly and completely, and passing them on to the relevant person for further action where appropriate.
31A working understanding of the importance of immediately reporting any issues which are outside your own sphere of competence without delay to the relevant member of staff.
Specific to decontamination facilities/controlled environment
32A working understanding of the difference between clean and other areas of the decontamination facility.
33A working understanding of how to maintain the environment to enable the unit to meet the requirements specified in the Standards and Practice Manual issued by the ISSM (The Institute of Sterile Services Management).
34A working understanding of reasons why access to various areas of the department is restricted.
35A working understanding of how to ensure the traceability of all equipment received into the controlled environment.
36A working understanding of why it is important to maintain positive air pressure in the controlled environment.
37A factual understanding of the basic system of filtered air circulation with positive pressure changes to other areas.
38A working understanding of why stock is transferred through hatch or air locks.
39A working understanding of why stock holding is limited in the controlled environment.
40A factual understanding of the risk to articles posed by particles in the controlled environment.
Performance criteria
DO / RA / EW / Q / P / WT
1Apply standard precautions for infection control and other relevant health and safety measures.
2Ensure you wear personal protective clothing relevant to the activity and additional protective equipment when dealing with exposure prone procedures.
3Identify risks prior to starting work activities, evaluate and report the risks identified and respond appropriately.
4Use and store all equipment and materials is accordance with manufacturer’s instructions and organisational policies and procedures.
5Keep work areas as safe and free from hazards as is possible during work activities and report any situations where risks arise that prevent work going ahead or continuing, restricting access to risk area until the area has been assessed as safe.
6Place waste containers in positions that will minimise hazards to staff and visitors and dispose of full waste containers promptly and in accordance with departmental procedures.
7Carry out cleaning of areas according to the cleaning schedule or as requested, using the correct equipment for cleaning according to the surface and the cleaning task.
8Follow manufacturer’s instructions and departmental COSHH risk assessments on dilutions, use of cleaning equipment, materials and agents and additional protective equipment.
9Use the cleaning equipment, materials and agents in a manner that minimises risk to yourself and others taking appropriate action when problems arise during cleaning.
10Set up hazard warnings when the cleaned surfaces are likely to cause risk to people.
11Return cleaning equipment and cleaning materials in good working order and condition to the appropriate place after use.

DO = Direct ObservationRA = Reflective AccountQ = Questions

EW = Expert Witness P = Product (Work)WT = Witness Testimony

Performance criteria
DO / RA / EW / Q / P / WT
12Equipment is safely stored and does not block any entry/exits or emergency equipment.
13Observe and monitor the general cleanliness of the environment and report to the appropriate person when there is concern over the level of cleanliness.
14Identify all people entering the department area and establish their right to entry.
15Minimise your movement within controlled areas and restrict access to others.
16Maintain segregation of designated clean and other areas within the department.
17Monitor and regulate environmental factors to maintain acceptable levels.
18Respond appropriately to environmental emergencies.
19Complete all documentation relating to health and safety, accurately and legibly in line with organisational policy.

DO = Direct ObservationRA = Reflective AccountQ = Questions

EW = Expert Witness P = Product (Work)WT = Witness Testimony

To be completed by the Candidate
I SUBMIT THIS AS A COMPLETE UNIT
Candidate’s name: ……………………………………………
Candidate’s signature: ………………………………………..
Date: …………………………………………………………..
To be completed by the Assessor
It is a shared responsibility of both the candidate and assessor to claim evidence, however, it is the responsibility of the assessor to ensure the accuracy/validity of each evidence claim and make the final decision.
I certify that sufficient evidence has been produced to meet all the elements, pcS AND KNOWLEDGE OF THIS UNIT.
Assessor’s name: …………………………………………….
Assessor’s signature: ………………………………………....
Date: …………………………………………………………..
Assessor/Internal Verifier Feedback
To be completed by the Internal Verifier if applicable
This section only needs to be completed if the Unit is sampled by the Internal Verifier
Internal Verifier’s name: ……………………………………………
Internal Verifier’s signature: ………………………………………..
Date: ……………………………………..…………………………..

Unit: DN9K 04 (GEN3) Maintain health and safety in a clinic/therapeutic environment