CFW’s health & safety expert Anthony Acari has compiled a list of useful updates for members…

– NICE has produced some guidance and guidelines concerning falls in older people – see it here. It champions evidence-based statements to deliver quality improvements in the prevention of falls and assessment after a fall in older people aged 65 and older.

– Now is a good time to review procedures for using and maintaining tumble driers. Check with your colleagues who look after and use them and double check you have procedures in place to make sure they are cleaned regularly and not left running overnight. More than 600 house fires in the Midlands have been started by tumble dryers over the last decade, new figures have revealed.

– October 18 is National Burns Awareness Day – it’s agood idea to check your procedures and read up on best practice to avoid incidents in care homes.

– Certain types of inserts for plug sockets should not be used in health and social care premises, according to a department of health report you can read here.

– If you want to measure your safety culture or perhaps change it, this free IOSH guide entitled Promoting a Positive Culture: A Guide to Health and Safety Culture may be suitable for you and your organisation. Read it here.

– The UK government has issued a warning concerning the Freeway Easy Fit hoist system with a swivelling trolley, manufactured by Prism. Read the report here.

– Two recent articles identified some company failings in a fatality and serious injury while working at height and using stepladders. How safe are your stepladder and working at height procedures, whether employing a contractor or using your own staff? Read the articles here and here.