Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- 20-20-20 rule
- An eye-rest habit of looking at something about 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes of screen use.
- Advanced nurse practitioner (ANP)
- A senior nurse with extra training who can assess, diagnose and treat patients, often including prescribing.
- Care navigation
- Trained reception or administrative staff directing patients to the most suitable service or clinician for their needs.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
- Clinical record system
- The computer system used to store and update patients' electronic health records, such as EMIS Web or SystmOne.
- Cold chain
- Keeping vaccines and certain medicines within a safe temperature range from delivery to use.
- Display screen equipment (DSE)
- Any device with a screen used for work, such as a desktop computer, laptop or tablet, along with its keyboard, mouse, desk and chair.
- Dragon Medical
- A voice-recognition software product that lets clinicians dictate notes into the record instead of typing them.
- Equality Act 2010
- The law protecting people from discrimination based on characteristics such as age, disability, sex or race.
- Ergonomic
- Designed so that equipment and work fit the person comfortably and reduce strain on the body.
- Fundamental standards
- The minimum standards of safety and quality below which care must never fall.
- Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992
- The law requiring employers to assess and reduce the health risks of working with screens and to offer eye tests to regular users.
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
- The main law requiring employers to protect the health, safety and welfare of staff and others affected by their work.
- Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
- The national body responsible for regulating and enforcing health and safety at work in Great Britain.
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
- The regulations setting out the fundamental standards that providers registered with the Care Quality Commission must meet.
- Healthcare assistant (HCA)
- A member of staff who supports nurses and other clinicians with practical care tasks such as taking blood and routine checks.
- Locum
- A clinician who works temporarily to cover for absent or unavailable regular staff.
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- The law requiring employers to carry out suitable risk assessments and to obtain competent health and safety advice.
- Musculoskeletal disorder
- Pain or injury affecting the muscles, joints, tendons or bones, such as neck, shoulder or back problems.
- Near miss
- An event that could have caused harm but did not, by chance or because it was caught in time.
- Portable appliance testing (PAT)
- Routine safety checking of electrical equipment to confirm it is safe to use.
- Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
- The law requiring work equipment to be suitable, properly maintained and safe to use.
- Quality statement
- A short statement of what good care looks like, used by the Care Quality Commission to judge a service.
- Reasonable adjustments
- Changes an employer or service makes so that disabled people are not put at a disadvantage, as required by the Equality Act 2010.
- Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR)
- The law requiring certain workplace injuries, diseases and dangerous events to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive.
- Residual risk
- The level of risk that remains once existing control measures are taken into account.
- Risk assessment
- A structured check identifying what could cause harm and what is being done to prevent it.
- Risk matrix
- A grid that scores how likely harm is and how serious it would be, to work out an overall risk rating.
- Significant event analysis
- A structured team review of a notable incident to learn from it and improve future care.
- Single assessment framework
- The structure the regulator uses to judge a service, built around quality statements and five key questions (safe, effective, caring, responsive, well-led).
- Special corrective appliances
- Glasses prescribed specifically for screen-viewing distance, which an employer must fund where an eye test confirms they are needed for DSE work.
- Total triage
- A model where every patient request is assessed first, often remotely, before an appointment type is decided.
- Triage
- Sorting and prioritising patients according to the urgency and nature of their needs.
- Work-related upper limb disorder (WRULD)
- Pain or injury to the arms, wrists, hands, neck or shoulders caused or made worse by work, also known as repetitive strain injury.
- Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
- The law setting basic requirements for the working environment, such as lighting, space, temperature and ventilation.