Safety alerts are issued when there is a specific safety issue that without immediate action being taken could result in a serious or fatal injury. When dangerous equipment, processes, procedures or substances are identified during or after an investigation, or as the result of a notification from Europe or industry, HSE may need to notify users and other stakeholders of the danger.
HSE may also need to notify other users of the steps that need to be taken to rectify the fault or protect people against it; a safety alert is one way of achieving this.
The most recent HSE alerts for health and social care are listed below:
This safety notice draws attention to key aspects of the proper management of the risks from legionella in a wide range of systems, such as hot and cold water systems in buildings, spa pools and a range of industrial processes that use water for cooling, washing, misting etc. It is informed by a review of outbreaks in Britain over the past ten years which showed that poor control continues to create a risk of outbreaks. Leisure centres with spa pools and care homes are among the businesses being urged to do more to protect workers and members of the public from legionella risks.
Potential danger from inappropriate use of emergency over-ride devices at the doors of lifting platforms intended for use by people with impaired mobility. Potential for access to be gained to lift well (shaft) when lifting platform/ lift car is at different level. Action required to ensure safe procedures are in place to prevent mis-use of landing door unlocking keys except in an emergency situation where access to the lift well is required.
Potential failure of window side-stay restrictors in health and social care premises. Action required where there are people vulnerable to the risk of falls to prevent falling from height due to failure of the window side-stay mechanism.
Recent investigations have identified there has been lack of sufficient relevant clinical details being provided on specimen request forms. This has resulted in samples being handled at the wrong biological containment level with resulting increased risk of infection to laboratory staff.
Alerting health and social care providers to potential risks to service users likely to self-hoist and transfer without the assistance of a carer(s).
Other organisations also issue safety alerts and warnings about safety issues in health and social care:
How the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regs apply...
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