A cold weather plan is pertinent to care homes to protect all stakeholders. Cold, dark and freezing weather conditions often bring about an increase in incidents requiring our intervention, many of which could have been be avoided with some simple preventative actions. Here our top winter safety tips for Care homes:
1. Guard against slips and trips.
Falls are common during winter months and can have dire consequences. Companies have a duty of care to employees and members of the public when they are on the company premises.
- Remove leaves at regular intervals as these cause a slip hazard.
- Grit key access routes, carparks, paths, shortcuts and sloped areas to prevent falls. The best times are early in the evening before frost settles or early in the morning before some employees arrive. Remember rain can wash away grit!
- Ensure there is effective lighting around the workplace to see all potential hazards.
- Consider whether it is necessary to use alternative routes and display warning signs and communications.
- Make sure all mats are absorbent and non-slip. Falls frequently happen around building entrances after rainfall.
- Consider fitting canopies of a good size over entrances.
2. Protect your service users and staff from cold weather.
Service users and employees working indoors can also be effected by cold weather snaps but it’s also important to ensure your building is well ventilated, especially in times of COVID. Getting a balance right is vital.
- Ensure your boilers are maintained and regularly serviced so they do not let you down during the prone winter months.
- Consider what your back up is in the event that the boiler does break and what emergency heating can be put in place during the interim.
- Keep draughts to a minimum and consider insulated flooring.
- It is recommended that indoor working environments are heated to a minimum of 16 degrees Celsius.
3. Avoid frozen pipes.
Water from broken pipes can cause significant damage to your property and interruption to your business.
- Have your pipes lagged, keep heating systems at a constant temperature and ensure sprinkler systems are well maintained.
- Do you know where the building stopcock is located so water can quickly be switched off?
- Do you have contact details of emergency plumbers?
4. Protect your property.
It’s recommended that you increase your inspections during winter to ensure your property is in a good state of repair.
- Ensure there is a regular maintenance programme in place to check flat roof areas, guttering, chimneys as these are all vulnerable property areas.
Quality Care Group provides a range of solutions for managing risk in care operations. For more information click here or email riskcontrol@qcaregroup.co.uk
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