Dental Nursing - Safety by In Touch Care

eCPD - Is it Safe?

Dental Nursing

IS IT SAFE?

Dental Nursing

eCPD Resource

Introduction

This activity will take place while you are on placement in a

In this task, you will be covering the areas detailed below.

dentist. • Dental Nursing: In this task, you will need to research and put together some safety information for other new starters. Your duties will in-

• Basic understanding of Legislations

clude: • Basic understanding of the organisational policies • Obtaining relevant information about health and safety legislation relevant to dental practices.

• Functional skills English Level 1 and Level 2:

• Looking at the practice policies and procedures relating to health and safety

• Select and use diﬀerent types of text to obtain and utilise relevant information

• Putting together a fact sheet

• Read and summarise succinctly, information and ideas from diﬀerent sources • Identify the purposes of texts

Your first job is to do some research about health and safety in a dental environment.

Task 1 - Research and Planning

Interactive 1.1 Your Notes

The information you need to find must be relevant to the clinical area, not just general health and safety. Plan it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; think about what you need to do and how you are going to do it Look at the documents on the following pages and then identify the option you think gives you the relevant information. Explain why you have chosen this option.

Explain your chosen option and your reasons. Then submit your notes to your tutor.

The law states that an employer must provide: •! •! •!

Text 1 Keeping your employees safe

Chairs that are adjustable Appropriate lighting Tiltable screens

They must also: •! Ensure your working areas are not confined •! Allow you to take regular breaks •! Pay for eye tests for all staff Three possible dangers of working on a computer are: Back problems This is generally because of poor seating positions or bad posture. Having an adjustable chair, using a footrest and positioning your screen correctly are all things that you can do to prevent this problem. Damage to fingers and wrists This sort of danger is known as RSI or Repetitive Strain Injury. This happens when movement is repeated over long periods of time. To help reduce this risk you can make sure you are seated correctly, use a wrist rest and take regular breaks. Eye strain This happens when you look at a computer screen for long periods of time. To help reduce the risk you can make sure the lighting is suitable, use a screen filter, have blinds on windows and take regular breaks.

Health and Safety information

Text 2 Keeping your employees safe

The main causes of injury in the work place are: •! Slips and trips •! Moving or falling objects •! Manual handling injuries •! Contact with moving machinery The main causes of ill health are: •! Skin irritation from the use of chemicals •! Upper limb disorders from repetitive movements •! Muscolo-skeletal injuries from manual handling •! Hearing loss from noisy machinery •! Respiratory irritation from inhalation of fumes. Look out for the warning signs: •! Poor production quality •! Frequent breaks •! Aches and pains •! High material waste •! Low output

Health and safety Under health and safety legislation, employers have a duty to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees, independent contractors and visitors. The legislation is designed to encourage employers to identify, minimise (or at least control) the potential hazards within the workplace and to maintain equipment according to the manufacturers’ recommendations.

Text 3 Keeping your employees safe

• • • • •

Health and safety Healthcare waste management Medical devices Risk assessment Infection control

Cleanliness and infection control are of fundamental importance to all dental practices and each of the four UK countries has published guidelines to help dentists implement and adopt safe and reliable standards. Establishing effective routines and ensuring they are understood and followed by everyone is a challenge for every practice owner, notwithstanding the individual responsibility of GDC registrants to maintain their knowledge of current infection control recommendations. Radiation safety Radiography is an integral part of dentistry. In addition to establishing a clinical justification for each exposure and ensuring that each film is clinically beneficial, there are certain regulatory requirements that dentists must comply with. Radiation protection  QA audits

Your next job is to put together a fact sheet about common

Research Activity

hazards specific to the dental industry. Use this link to research this further:

Assessment

http://www.bda.org/dentists/advice/ba/hs.aspx

Discuss with your mentor

Plan it – think about what you need to do and how you are

the format for your fact sheet and how you will submit this for assessment.

going to do You will need to consider: •

The audience

•

The purpose of the factsheet

•

Structure

•

The correct use of grammar, spelling and punctuation

•

Images to illustrate the text

Ask your mentor for access to the organisational policies for

Article Writing

Health and Safety. Spend some time looking through these and make brief notes.

Interactive 1.2 Plan your article

You are going to produce a short article that provides advice on the use of chemicals. Plan it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; think about what you need to do and how you are going to do it.

Use your notepad to plan your article. Submit to your mentor to get feedback and decide how your work will be submitted for assessment.

Dental Nursing

ÂŠ In Touch Care

Article A piece of writing forming an independent part of a publication