Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- Advanced nurse practitioner
- An experienced nurse with extra training and qualifications who can assess, diagnose and treat patients, often independently.
- Alarm Receiving Centre
- A staffed monitoring centre that receives alerts from lone-worker alarms and arranges a response, including contacting the emergency services.
- As low as is reasonably practicable
- Reducing a risk to the lowest level that is sensible once the effort, time and cost of doing so are weighed against the reduction in risk.
- Aseptic technique
- A way of carrying out a clinical procedure that prevents germs from contaminating the area and causing infection.
- Automated external defibrillator (AED)
- A portable device that checks the heart rhythm and can deliver an electric shock to restart the heart during a cardiac arrest.
- Blood-borne virus
- An infection such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV that can be passed on through blood.
- Care Quality Commission
- The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
- Closed-circuit television (CCTV)
- A camera system that records or monitors activity in and around a building for safety and security.
- Competent person
- Someone with the training, knowledge and experience needed to manage health and safety matters properly.
- Controlled drug
- A medicine whose supply, storage and records are tightly restricted by law because of its potential for misuse.
- Controlled-drug register
- The legally required record of the receipt, supply and stock of controlled drugs held by a service.
- Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007
- The law under which an organisation can be prosecuted if a serious management failure causes someone's death.
- De-escalation
- Techniques used to calm a tense or aggressive situation and reduce the chance of violence.
- Defibrillator
- A device that delivers an electric shock to the heart to try to restore a normal rhythm in an emergency.
- Dispensary
- The part of a practice where medicines are stored, prepared and supplied to patients.
- Display screen equipment
- Computer screens and similar devices, the safe use of which is governed by specific workplace health and safety rules.
- Duress alarm
- A button or device that lets a worker quietly raise the alarm when they feel threatened or are in danger.
- Duty of care
- The legal responsibility to take reasonable steps to avoid causing harm to people you are responsible for.
- Dynamic risk assessment
- A quick, on-the-spot check of the hazards in a changing situation, made and updated as events unfold.
- Emergency department
- The hospital department that provides immediate treatment for serious injuries and illness; also known as accident and emergency.
- EMIS Web
- A widely used computer system for storing and managing patient records in general practice.
- Employee Assistance Programme
- A confidential support service offering staff help with personal, emotional or work-related problems.
- Equality Act 2010
- The law protecting people from discrimination based on characteristics such as age, disability, sex or race.
- Exposure-prone procedure
- A clinical procedure where there is a risk that a worker's blood could contaminate a patient's open tissues, or the reverse.
- Extended access
- Appointments offered outside normal core hours, such as early mornings, evenings or weekends.
- General practitioner (GP)
- A doctor who provides general medical care to patients in the community, usually based at a surgery.
- Global Positioning System (GPS)
- A satellite-based system that pinpoints a device's location, used here to locate a lone worker who raises an alarm.
- Hazard
- Anything that has the potential to cause harm, such as a piece of equipment, a substance or a situation.
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
- The main law setting out an employer's general duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of staff and others.
- Health and Safety Executive
- The national body responsible for regulating and enforcing workplace health and safety in Great Britain.
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
- The regulations setting the fundamental standards that providers of regulated health and care must meet.
- Healthcare assistant
- A member of staff who supports nurses and doctors with basic clinical and care tasks under supervision.
- Hepatitis B
- A blood-borne viral infection of the liver that healthcare staff are usually vaccinated against.
- Home visit
- A clinical visit made to a patient in their own home or care home rather than at the surgery.
- Immunisation
- Giving a vaccine to protect a person against a specific infectious disease.
- Infection prevention and control
- The measures used to stop infection spreading between patients, staff and visitors.
- Likelihood
- In a risk assessment, how probable it is that a particular harm will actually happen.
- Locum
- A clinician who stands in temporarily for a regular member of staff.
- Lone worker
- Any person who works by themselves without close or direct supervision, whether all or part of the time.
- Man-down detection
- A feature of a lone-worker device that raises an alarm automatically if the wearer falls or stops moving.
- Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- The regulations requiring employers to assess risks and put suitable health and safety arrangements in place.
- Multi-agency safeguarding hub
- A team bringing together services such as social care, police and health to handle safeguarding concerns together.
- Near miss
- An event that could have caused harm but did not, by chance or because it was caught in time.
- Needlestick injury
- An injury caused by a needle or other sharp piercing the skin, which can risk passing on a blood-borne infection.
- Occupational health
- A service that looks after the health and wellbeing of staff in relation to their work.
- Out of hours
- The periods outside a practice's normal opening times when routine staffing and support are reduced.
- Personal protective equipment
- Items such as gloves, aprons and masks worn to protect against harm or infection.
- Phlebotomist
- A member of staff trained to take blood samples from patients.
- Post-exposure prophylaxis
- Medicine given soon after possible exposure to an infection, such as HIV, to reduce the chance of it taking hold.
- Protection from Harassment Act 1997
- The law that makes it an offence to pursue a course of conduct that harasses or causes alarm or distress to another person.
- Regulated activity
- A type of care or treatment the law requires a provider to register with the regulator to deliver.
- Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013
- 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 the existing control measures have been taken into account.
- Risk assessment
- A structured check identifying what could cause harm and what is being done to prevent it.
- Risk rating
- A score for a hazard, here found by multiplying its likelihood by its severity, used to set priority and action.
- Safeguarding
- Protecting people's health, wellbeing and rights and keeping them safe from abuse, harm or neglect.
- Severity
- In a risk assessment, how serious the harm would be if it did happen.
- Sharps
- Needles, blades and other items that can cut or puncture the skin.
- Significant event
- Any notable occurrence that is recorded and reviewed so a service can learn from it and improve.
- 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).
- Statutory notification
- An incident a provider is legally required to report to the regulator, such as a death or serious injury.
- SystmOne
- A widely used computer system for storing and managing patient records in general practice.
- Triage
- Sorting or assessing cases by urgency or risk so that the most pressing receive attention first.
- Zero-tolerance policy
- A stated position that abuse, threats or violence towards staff will not be accepted under any circumstances.