Health & Safety

Most of what keeps a urinary catheter safe is everyday care, not clinical skill: clean hands, a closed drainage system, a bag below bladder level but off the floor, a secured tube, good fluids and no constipation. NICE says adults with indwelling catheters should not have dipstick tests to diagnose a UTI, and cloudy or smelly urine alone is not a reliable sign of infection. This guide covers catheter types, who can change them, emptying bags, leg and night bags, warning signs, sepsis, dignity, recording and a daily checklist.

Parkinson’s is not just a tremor, and the most important thing a care worker controls is timing: Parkinson’s medicines are time critical and must be given at the person’s own prescribed times, not on the usual drug round. This guide covers motor and non-motor symptoms, on/off periods, facial masking and a quiet voice, communication, freezing and falls, eating and constipation, medicines that can make Parkinson’s worse, hospital admissions, recording and CQC Regulation 12.

What a near miss at work is, using HSE’s HSG245 definition; examples by sector; how a near miss differs from an accident, an incident and a RIDDOR dangerous occurrence; why there is no general duty to report a near miss to the HSE; which dangerous occurrences must be reported and when; how to report, record and investigate near misses internally; building a no-blame reporting culture; and record keeping and data protection.

What a personal emergency evacuation plan (PEEP) is, why no workplace law uses the word but the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and Equality Act 2010 still require the outcome, why you cannot rely on the fire and rescue service, who needs one, PEEPs vs GEEPs for visitors, what to include, a step-by-step guide to writing one, reviews and practice, care homes and progressive horizontal evacuation, and the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 in force since 6 April 2026.

Dysphagia means difficulty swallowing. It is a symptom, not a disease, and coughing is not the only warning sign: some people aspirate silently. This guide explains causes, signs to report, aspiration pneumonia, the IDDSI levels, safe mealtime support, mouth care, medicines, choking, thickener safety, recording and CQC Regulation 14, and why textures must come from an SLT assessment.

The 6 C’s of care — Care, Compassion, Competence, Communication, Courage and Commitment — explained: where they came from (NHS England’s Compassion in Practice, 2012), what each one means with real care examples, why they are values and not a law or a CQC regulation, how they differ from the CQC fundamental standards and the Care Certificate, and who they apply to.

No regulation names face fit testing, but for tight-fitting RPE it is effectively mandatory. Which laws require it, who needs it, clean-shaven rules and how often.

What palliative care really is, why it is not the same as end of life care, when it starts, who it is for, what it involves, who provides it, where you can receive it, how to plan ahead, and the free hospice care available in the UK.

What are the signs of a hypo? Low blood sugar symptoms, why hypos are mistaken for stroke or dementia, why tablets like gliclazide cause long hypos in older people, how to treat a hypo step by step, why not chocolate, what to do if someone is unconscious, hypo vs hyper, and recording and preventing hypos in care.

What is a permit to work? HSE’s definition, whether permits are a legal requirement, when you need one (and when you don’t), hot work, cold work, electrical and confined space permits, what a permit form must include, who does what, the permit life cycle, isolations, lessons from Piper Alpha, and training.