Health and Safety

Awareness training for a safer care environment

Training Overview

This course explores the everyday health and safety responsibilities of people working in health and social care. Learn to recognise workplace hazards, understand risk controls and respond appropriately to unsafe conditions. Through practical examples and interactive activities, you will develop the awareness needed to protect yourself and others, follow workplace procedures and report safety concerns.

Course Description

Health and social care work involves environments, equipment and activities that can affect the safety of staff, people receiving care and visitors. Understanding these risks helps workers make informed decisions and contribute to safer services.

This course examines workplace responsibilities, risk assessment, environmental hazards, equipment safety, hazardous substances and worker health. It also explores emergency arrangements and the reporting of accidents, near misses and unresolved concerns. Realistic care-setting examples connect the learning to situations staff may encounter during their working day.

Course Aim

To develop the knowledge and awareness needed to recognise health and safety concerns and contribute to safe working practices within the learner’s role.

Learning Objectives

The course will guide learners through the responsibilities, risk-management principles and practical safety arrangements relevant to everyday care work. Interactive activities will provide opportunities to interpret situations, consider appropriate actions and check understanding.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

1. Distinguish between employer responsibilities, worker responsibilities and the limits of your role.
2. Explain the difference between a hazard and a risk, and how risk assessment informs safe working.
3. Recognise common environmental hazards in care settings.
4. Identify precautions relating to equipment, electricity and physical tasks.
5. Recognise hazardous-substance and occupational-exposure risks.
6. Identify factors affecting worker health, welfare and personal safety.
7. Describe how to follow local emergency arrangements and obtain appropriate assistance.
8. Explain how to report incidents and contribute to improvements in workplace safety.

Who This Course Is For

This course is suitable for care workers, healthcare assistants, support workers, agency staff, nurses requiring an awareness refresher and other staff working in health and social care environments.

Examples focus primarily on adult care settings in England, including care homes, supported living and domiciliary care.

Course Scope

This is an awareness-level course. It supports understanding of everyday health and safety practice alongside your employer’s policies, risk assessments and local arrangements.

Completion does not establish practical competence or authorise you to undertake unfamiliar or specialist tasks. Workplace induction, supervision and relevant task-specific training remain necessary. Practical first aid, fire evacuation, moving and handling techniques and specialist equipment procedures require appropriate additional learning and assessment.

Where legal or regulatory requirements differ across UK nations, their geographical application will be identified.

Learning Activities

The course includes explanatory content, interactive activities, practical scenarios and two short videos. Two knowledge checks within each teaching module will help you check your understanding before progressing.

Read the feedback after each knowledge check and revisit any content you find unclear.

Assessment and Completion

The final assessment contains 15 questions, with a pass mark of 80%. You have two attempts.

Complete all required learning activities and pass the final assessment to meet the course completion requirements. If you do not pass your first attempt, review the relevant learning before trying again. If you do not pass after two attempts, contact the training provider for support.