Personal Protective Equipment
Types of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Active will provide you with the equipment you need to protect you from injury and, as far as possible, from the risk of infection while you are at work. That includes:
- Enough uniforms for regular changing and disposable aprons to protect clothing and uniforms from contamination from blood and body fluids etc.
- The correct type of disposable gloves to reduce the risk of cross contamination of you and the individual you are supporting
- Masks and respiratory-masks to protect you from breathing in harmful micro-organisms
- Goggles, eye protection and face shields – if there is a risk of being splashed with body fluids.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) needs to be used:
- To protect the wearer from infection
- To protect the person being assisted from any risk of infection from the worker
- To protect the wearer from other risks e.g. risk of being harmed by chemicals or through too much exposure to a particular product. To protect from burns, splashes, allergic reactions etc.
- To protect the wearers from having their clothes soiled or damaged. (For example, if involved in gardening, use of greasy equipment, cooking etc.) This might be particularly relevant in roles where staff do not wear a uniform.
Active risk assesses the tasks you will carry out as part of your day to day routine with a client. Staff need to check the person centred support plan which will detail which equipment is necessary for the each task.
If you have any concerns regarding the risk assessments or concerns about personal protective equipment you should contact your line manager.
Use to answer question 15.1d of the Care Certificate
The Agreed Procedures for the Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Using agreed procedures for the wearing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and its disposal is essential. PPE is what is says, personal to the wearer – it is unacceptable to share it with another worker. The size and fit of some items may be significant to their effectiveness. If you wear the wrong size you and/or others may be exposed to risk.
- When you use PPE for personal care tasks, you should remove these items once used and replace them with new ones if you need to attend to another person.
- Always wash your hands before and after using/handling any PPE
- Always wear PPE: eye protection, gloves and aprons when may potentially come into contact with body fluids
- Always wear plasters to cover your own cuts and wounds (blue ones are required in cooking environments)
- You could cross infect a person if you allow items which have been in contact with one part of a person’s body which has an infection to be used on another part of the same person’s body
- Some micro-organisms can pass through some materials but not through others, so the materials from which a protective item is made is significant. For example, gloves latex/rubber, vinyl and different types of plastic do not provide the same level of protection.
- Sterile items of clothing or equipment are only sterile while left in their sealed package unopened.
Use to answer question 15.1d of the Care Certificate
