Health and safety

Health and safety

To ensure that customers enjoy their hospitality experience, they must feel safe. Employees must also feel protected so they can carry out their job efficiently. There are a number of laws that protect all parties.

Health and Safety at Work

The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) role is to protect people’s health and safety by ensuring risks are minimised. They have the authority to visit any premises when they see fit and impose sanctions if necessary.

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)

Food hygiene laws state that all business should have a documented HACCP system in place.

The aim of this process is to look at how food is handled and introduce procedures that will ensure that the food is safe to eat.

Food producers need to understand how, why and where food could become contaminated and then put strategies in place to help reduce the risk of contamination occurring.

The HACCP system will help to do this. It is a flow diagram that clearly sets out the relevant steps.

The HACCP process involves the following steps:

• Identify what could go wrong (hazards and critical control points (CCP)) for each dish and review if any change is made to a recipe or a new dish is introduced
• Set critical limits at each CCP which will state the conditions that must be met to ensure food is safe to eat.
• Set up checks at CCP to prevent problems (monitoring)
• Decide what to do if something goes wrong (corrective action) and re-write the plan to avoid further problems occurring
• Prove that the plan is working (verification)
• Keep records of all of the above (documentation)

The plan must be kept up to date and reviewed especially when something changes.

Legal responsibility of employers

Legal responsibility of employees

Have HACCP systems in place.Ensure staff are familiar with these and follow the proceduresAlways monitor food safety controlsKnow their suppliers and check all supplies on deliveryProvide food hygiene trainingRemind staff of the importance of personal hygieneGet staff to report illnessSeparate raw and cooked foodHave adequate washing facilitiesTake measures to avoid cross contamination e.g. colour coded chopping boardsMaintain food temperature controls e.g. chilled under 5ºC, hot food above 63ºCHave an effective cleaning programme

First aid

Accidents will happen in even the most organised establishment. Therefore, it is important that the correct first aid procedures are in place to treat someone who requires medical assistance.

First Aid legislation states that:

• There must be one first aid box per 150 people
• There must be one named qualified first aider per 150 people
• There must be a ‘responsible person’ in charge of first aid
• First aid boxes must be regularly checked for content
• First aid boxes must be easily accessible

A first aid kit must contain the following:

• Sterile dressings
• Wound dressings
• Sticky plasters
• Sterile cotton wool/eye pad
• Pressure bandages
• Safety pins, scissors, tweezers
• Eye bath
• Rubber/latex/plastic gloves
• Triangular bandages
• Distilled water

The first-aider must have a knowledge and understanding of how to treat minor injuries and accidents

Burns or Scalds

A burn is caused by dry heat e.g. hot pan whilst a scald is caused by moist heat e.g. boiling water/steam/hot oil.

To treat a scald or burn:

• You need to cool the area of the skin that has been affected by immediately placing under cold running water for at least 10mins or until the stinging stops.
• DO NOT apply cream, as this will seal the heat in.
• Leave uncovered

If a burn is larger than the casualties hand, medical assistance must be sought. In the meantime:

• Take casualty away from the heat source
• Remove any clothing or jewellery
• Do not apply creams or gels
• Cover the burn with Clingfilm
• Treat for shock

Cut

To treat cuts:

• The first aider must wear gloves or wash and dry their hands
• Apply pressure to the cut
• Raise injured area to help minimise bleeding
• Flush with cold water (distilled if available in the first aid kit)
• Clean, dry and apply a blue, waterproof plaster to the cut
• Blue plasters are used as they show up easily in food if they fall off – a thin metal strip shows up on the x-ray machine used at the end of a food processing line in factories

Severe bleeding

• The first aider must wear gloves or wash and dry their hands
• Remove any clothing around the wound
• Don’t remove any objects that might be lodged in the wound
• Apply pressure around the object or directly on the wound if there is no object
• Apply pressure and place a sterile dressing on the injury
• Phone 999 for medical assistance
• Lie the injured person down with their legs raised to prevent shock
• Secure the dressing with a bandage
• Check circulation every ten minutes and the person’s level of response

Falls

Falls happen when people slip on wet, greasy or dirty floors or when someone faints.

To treat someone who has fallen:

• If the person is lying on the floor, do not help them up. Check for response and inquire about any injuries before moving them.
• Place in the recovery position and allow them to sit up slowly when they feel up to it.
• Check again for injury and seek medical help if necessary.

More first aid

Choking

Choking occurs when a person is unable to breathe due to an obstruction in their throat causing a lack of air.

To treat choking in adults:

• Encourage the person to cough to help remove the obstruction
• If unsuccessful, support the upper body and get them to lean forward
• Using the heel of your hand give five sharp back blows between their shoulder blades
• Check to see if the object has been dislodged
• If the object is still obstructing the airways, give up to five abdominal thrusts
• If they’re still choking, call for medical help and continue to offer first aid
• If they become unresponsive, open their airway and check their breathing
• If they stop breathing, start chest compressions and rescue breaths (CPR)

Unconsciousness

When someone is unconscious they are unable to respond and appear to be sleeping. The length of time that a person is unconscious depends on the cause.

To treat someone who is unconscious:

• Open the person’s airway by tilting the head back and lifting the chin
• Check their breathing
• Place the casualty in the recovery position
• If you suspect a spinal injury, keep the neck as still as possible
• As soon as the person is in the recovery position, call for help if they have not regained consciousness after 3 minutes
• If they stop breathing begin CPR

If the person is not breathing:

• Open the airways and check their breathing
• Call for medical assistance and begin CPR
• Give the person chest compressions and a rescue breath until help arrives

Anaphylaxis

This is a life-threatening reaction to an allergy that can develop rapidly. People with severe allergic reactions will carry an epinephrine auto-injector (such as an EpiPen).

Signs and symptoms of anaphylactic shock include increased breathing difficulties, a feeling of anxiety and fear, rapid heartbeat, a sharp and sudden drop blood pressure and unconsciousness.

To treat Anaphylaxis:

• Call for emergency help immediately by dialing 999
• Ask the causality for their auto-injector and help them to use it
• Make them as comfortable as possible, asking them to lean forward to aid their breathing
• Monitor the person’s level of responsiveness
• Administer the second auto-injector if the symptoms continue