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Explain the potential consequences of not following food safety standards in social care setting.

James is 19 years old; he lives with his parents, twice a week he goes bowling or to the cinema with his support workers. They also go with him to the local college where he is studying Horticulture. At his last care planning meeting James expressed a wish to live independently with someone of his own age. His mother is against any change; she has dedicated her life to caring for him since he was diagnosed as having Asperger’s Syndrome. She is particularly worried that James will be at risk because he has limited experience of living independently. She is concerned he will make himself ill because he has limited experience of general health and safety in the kitchen and has no understanding about food safety. She will not discuss it with James or the social care workers. James is very angry with her.   

If food safety standards are not followed correctly in a social care setting, individuals could be put at risk of serious illness from infection or food poisoning. This can include vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps and dehydration. This poses a risk not only to the individual that that didn’t follow the standards but also their support workers and any other people that they reside with.

It could result in the person’s family being worried or anxious about their loved one and may cause them to seek legal recourse or want to remove the individual from the social care setting.

Support workers may feel guilt and staff morale could be lowered.

If an individual is unable to go to work, this could lead to financial implications or they may not be able to partake in an activity they have been looking forward to (such as a holiday) because of their illness.

As touched upon above it could lead to legal action against the service provider as legislation would have been contravened as well as company policies and procedures. This could also lead to disciplinary action and potential dismissal of employees.

Food Safety: Using the table below, explain how James should:

James is 19 years old; he lives with his parents, twice a week he goes bowling or to the cinema with his support workers. They also go with him to the local college where he is studying Horticulture. At his last care planning meeting James expressed a wish to live independently with someone of his own age. His mother is against any change; she has dedicated her life to caring for him since he was diagnosed as having Asperger’s Syndrome. She is particularly worried that James will be at risk because he has limited experience of living independently. She is concerned he will make himself ill because he has limited experience of general health and safety in the kitchen and has no understanding about food safety. She will not discuss it with James or the social care workers. James is very angry with her.   

 

Store food safely
Read the labels on food packaging to identify how it should be stored (fridge, freezer, cupboard etc.)

Store raw meat and poultry on the bottom shelf of the fridge.

Cover and date any leftover food and wait for it to cool before putting in the fridge.

Handle food safely
Wash hands thoroughly before handling food.

Ensure work surfaces are clean and tidy.

Ensure cooking utensils are clean.

Use the correct utensils for the food type (e.g. colour-coded chopping boards and knives)

Cook food at the correct temperature.

Ensure food is cooked thoroughly before serving.

Dispose of food safely
Clean up any mess or spillages quickly.

Put all food that is past its use-by date into the bin.

Empty the bin regularly.

Describe the main points of food safety in social care setting.

James is 19 years old; he lives with his parents, twice a week he goes bowling or to the cinema with his support workers. They also go with him to the local college where he is studying Horticulture. At his last care planning meeting James expressed a wish to live independently with someone of his own age. His mother is against any change; she has dedicated her life to caring for him since he was diagnosed as having Asperger’s Syndrome. She is particularly worried that James will be at risk because he has limited experience of living independently. She is concerned he will make himself ill because he has limited experience of general health and safety in the kitchen and has no understanding about food safety. She will not discuss it with James or the social care workers. James is very angry with her.   

Legislation and company policies are used to ensure that food is handled safely in a social care setting as well as promoting good practices to minimise risk of harm and illness.

Food should be stored correctly as indicated by the packaging. Chilled foods should go in the fridge, frozen foods in the freezer and other foods in cupboards. Fridge food should be kept on the correct shelves (for example, raw meat should be kept on the bottom shelf in case drips cross-contaminate food below it). Leftover food should be cooled before transferring it to the fridge or freezer and covered and labelled with the date. The fridge and freezer should also be set to the correct temperatures.

A good level of hygiene should be practiced when preparing food, which includes washing hands using correct methods and washing between handling different types of food. All utensils and work surfaces should be clean and different utensils used for different food types (e.g. a red chopping board for raw meat, a green chopping board for vegetables etc.) Any spillages should be cleaned up quickly.

Food that has gone out of date should be disposed of quickly and bins emptied regularly.

Food should be cooked at the correct temperature and should be checked that it is thoroughly cooked before serving.

Explain how a risk assessment might help address dilemmas between James’s rights and the health and safety concerns expressed by his mother.

James is 19 years old; he lives with his parents, twice a week he goes bowling or to the cinema with his support workers. They also go with him to the local college where he is studying Horticulture. At his last care planning meeting James expressed a wish to live independently with someone of his own age. His mother is against any change; she has dedicated her life to caring for him since he was diagnosed as having Asperger’s Syndrome. She is particularly worried that James will be at risk because he has limited experience of living independently. She is concerned he will make himself ill because he has limited experience of general health and safety in the kitchen and has no understanding about food safety. She will not discuss it with James or the social care workers. James is very angry with her.   

A risk assessment will identify any potential risks to James’ health and safety and put procedures and action plans in place to minimise them.

All individuals have the right to take risks and explaining this to James’ mother along with the purpose of the risk assessment may help her to understand that she is causing a barrier to his independence.

Creating a risk assessment in partnership with an individual, their family, support staff and other professionals can help everybody to understand the risks involved in an activity and can highlight potential risks that may not have previously been considered. It would make James and his mother aware of the risks and allow them to develop strategies to reduce the risk as much as possible, whilst also allowing James to exercise his right to be independent. It will also help James to understand the responsibilities he will have for the safety of himself and others.

Having developed solutions to minimise potential risks, the risk assessment should be written up and reviewed on a regular basis to identify any changes that need to be made.

Give three reasons why risk assessments designed to support choice and active participation need to be reviewed and updated regularly.

Risk assessments designed to support choice and active participation should be updated regularly. This is because the needs or preferences of the individual may change (e.g. they may no longer want to partake in an activity). New risks may be identified which would also require the risk assessment to be updated. Changes in legislation may also prompt a review of existing risk assessments.

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