Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- Advanced life support
- A higher level of emergency resuscitation using drugs and equipment, delivered by specially trained clinical staff.
- Asbestos
- A hazardous building material that can cause serious lung disease if its fibres are disturbed and breathed in.
- Autoclave
- A machine that uses pressurised steam to sterilise instruments so they are safe to reuse.
- Blood-borne virus (BBV)
- An infection such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV that can be passed on through blood.
- Calibration
- Checking and adjusting a piece of equipment so that its measurements stay accurate.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
- Clinical waste
- Waste from healthcare that may be infectious or hazardous and must be disposed of safely and separately.
- Competent person
- Someone with the training, knowledge and experience needed to carry out a task safely and correctly.
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)
- The law for safely managing chemicals and other hazardous substances at work.
- Core Skills Training Framework
- A national set of agreed standards for the mandatory training all healthcare staff should complete.
- Cytotoxic drug
- A powerful medicine, often used in cancer treatment, that is toxic to cells and must be handled with special care.
- Decontamination
- The combined process of cleaning, disinfecting and, where needed, sterilising equipment so it is safe to reuse.
- Display screen equipment
- Computer monitors and similar screens, the use of which is covered by specific health and safety rules to prevent strain and injury.
- Duty of candour
- The legal duty to be open and honest with a person and their family when something goes wrong with their care.
- Dynamic risk assessment
- Judging and managing risk on the spot as a situation changes, rather than only beforehand on paper.
- Environmental Protection Act 1990
- The law that sets out how waste must be handled and disposed of to protect people and the environment.
- Fundamental standards
- The minimum standards of safety and quality below which care must never fall.
- Hazard
- Anything with the potential to cause harm, such as a wet floor, a sharp needle or a hazardous chemical.
- Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005
- The law controlling how dangerous waste must be stored, moved and disposed of.
- Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974
- The main law setting out an employer's duty to protect the health and safety of staff and others affected by their work.
- Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
- The national body responsible for regulating and enforcing workplace health and safety.
- Health and Safety (Sharps Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013
- The law requiring safe handling and disposal of needles and other sharp instruments in healthcare.
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
- The regulations setting the fundamental standards that providers of regulated care must meet.
- Health Technical Memorandum (HTM)
- Official guidance setting the standards for the design, safety and management of healthcare buildings, equipment and services.
- Hierarchy of control
- An ordered approach to reducing risk, starting with removing the hazard and using protective equipment only as a last resort.
- Hygiene Code
- The official code of practice setting out how healthcare providers must prevent and control infection.
- Immediate life support
- Basic emergency resuscitation skills, such as managing a collapse and using a defibrillator, expected of frontline clinical staff.
- Infection prevention and control (IPC)
- The measures used to stop infection spreading between patients, staff and visitors.
- Inoculation injury
- An injury, such as a needlestick or splash, that could pass an infection into the body through broken skin or the eyes.
- Key questions
- The five areas the regulator uses to judge a service: safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.
- Legionella
- Bacteria that can grow in water systems and cause a serious form of pneumonia if breathed in as a fine spray.
- Locum
- A clinician who stands in temporarily to cover the duties of another.
- Lone working
- Working without close or direct supervision, for example a clinician visiting a patient at home alone.
- Manual handling
- Moving, lifting or supporting loads or people by hand or bodily force, which carries a risk of injury if done unsafely.
- Medical device
- Any instrument, equipment or appliance used to diagnose, monitor or treat patients.
- Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
- The national body that regulates the safety of medicines and medical devices in the UK.
- Near miss
- An event that could have caused harm but did not, by chance or because it was caught in time.
- Nominated Individual
- The senior person responsible to the regulator for supervising how a service is provided.
- Notifiable event
- An incident a provider is legally required to report to the regulator, such as a death or serious injury.
- Personal emergency evacuation plan (PEEP)
- An individual plan setting out how a person who cannot leave a building unaided will be helped to safety in an emergency.
- Personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Items such as gloves, aprons and masks worn to protect against harm or infection.
- Plan-Do-Check-Act
- A continuous improvement cycle of planning an action, carrying it out, checking the result and acting on what is learned.
- Portable appliance testing
- Routine safety checking of electrical equipment that plugs into a socket.
- Post-exposure prophylaxis
- Medicine taken soon after possible exposure to an infection to reduce the chance of becoming ill.
- Pressure system
- Equipment such as a steam steriliser that holds liquids or gases under pressure and must be examined for safety.
- Reasonably practicable
- Doing what is sensible to control a risk by weighing the level of risk against the time, cost and effort involved.
- Registered Manager
- The person registered with the regulator as responsible for the day-to-day running of a service.
- Regulated activity
- A type of care or treatment the law requires a provider to register with the regulator to deliver.
- Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
- The law placing duties on those in control of premises to assess and manage fire risk.
- 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.
- Responsible Person
- The individual with overall control of premises who holds the legal duties for fire safety.
- Resuscitation Council UK
- The body that sets the UK standards and training levels for emergency resuscitation.
- Risk
- The chance that a hazard will cause harm, combined with how serious that harm could be.
- Risk assessment
- A structured check identifying what could cause harm and what is being done to prevent it.
- Safe system of work
- An agreed, documented way of carrying out a task that reduces the risk of harm.
- Safety data sheet
- A document from a supplier setting out the hazards of a substance and how to use, store and dispose of it safely.
- Sharps
- Needles, blades and other items that can cut or puncture the skin.
- 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).
- Standard precautions
- The basic infection-control steps used with every patient, such as hand hygiene and wearing protective equipment.
- Substances hazardous to health
- Chemicals, fumes, biological agents and other materials at work that can damage health if not properly controlled.
- World Health Organization 'five moments'
- Five key points during care at which staff should clean their hands to prevent the spread of infection.