The accident rate in care homes shockingly exceeds the hospital rate by 25% – a harrowing statistic. Elderly patients require eagle-eyed and intensive supervision and care to prevent accidents, and it would seem that many care homes are failing to provide this.
If there is an accident at your care home facility, what can you knowingly expect from a legal standpoint?
Read on as we explore the fairly administered legal ramifications of health and safety non-compliance at care facilities, along with the best practices for diligently finessed care patient safety and legal compliance.
An Accident At The Care Home: What To Expect From A Legal Standpoint
When an accident happens at a care facility, there will assuredly be an investigation to determine the root cause of the issue and rule out negligence. There are dishearteningly many potential causes for an accident in a care facility, so it’s important to understand your responsibilities. Here are some of the most common accidents in a care facility:
- Falls – Over 75% of care home patients experience a slip, trip, or fall every year. If the patient was strictly meant to be under supervision during the time of the fall, and wasn’t, the facility could rightly be held legally responsible.
- Fires – it’s your responsibility as a care provider to laboriously establish a clear procedure for fire safety and evacuation. Elderly patients will be unable to move quickly in an evacuation, so resources should be extensively provided to detect fires early.
- Medication errors – all staff should be fully trained and legally eligible to administer medication. However, mistakes can unfortunately be made, especially if employees are overworked or overburdened with responsibilities.
- Food hygiene – great care should be taken when preparing meals in care homes, as patients may be infinitely more vulnerable to poisoning from unsafe food.
With so many potential hazards for elderly care home patients, it’s essential that facilities perform their due diligence vehemently to avoid the legal ramifications.
If you are found legally responsible for an accident that happened at your care home, you could face hefty legal ramifications. You could receive a personal injury or medical negligence claim. And you could lose your license to continue operating as a care facility.
With so much at risk, you should begin planning stringent health and safety compliance to protect your establishment from every angle.
How To Better Protect Your Care Patients And Legally Protect Your Establishment
Here are the top tips and best practices for protecting your care patients and protecting your facility from a legal standpoint.
Staying Aware Of Policy Developments
Your health and safety strategy should be in constant evolution in line with the latest developments in health and safety policies and compliance standards. This is why it’s prudent to hire a professional health and safety expert, who will have complete understanding of these policies and can assess your level of compliance consistently, offering advice on the best ways to legally protect your business from liability in the event of an accident by performing your duty of care to the highest standard.
Investing In Advanced Alarm Systems
Since fire is one of the most significant threats to resident safety at your care facility, it’s prudent to invest in advanced alarm systems that will provide you with ample time to escort them to safety. Cloud-based alarm systems provide mobile alerts, allowing you to instantly investigate the source of the alert and act quickly, potentially saving lives in a crisis situation.
Prioritizing Staff Wellbeing
Although your staff may be the most reliable, honest, and hardworking individuals, you won’t be able to fully rely on them if they’re overworked, in a state of distress, or struggling with their physical and mental health. If this is the case, they will be more likely to make mistakes, which can, unfortunately, lead to accidents and harm to your care patients.
This is why you should encourage your staff to take regular leave, check in with them on a regular basis, and ensure you always have enough staff to cover the shift in line with your compliance requirements.
Summary
Health and safety policies and mandates are there for a reason. They guide establishments to ensure the safety of all occupants and to protect companies from the guilt and legal ramifications of accidents on site. Consider whether your care facility is placing enough emphasis on policy compliance and staff wellbeing, or whether it may be time to rectify this gap in your business strategy.
