GEN1 Ensure personal fitness for work

Overview

This standard covers your responsibility to make sure you are fit for work in clinical/therapeutic areas and focuses on preventing cross infection from a personal point of view. Users of this standard will need to ensure that practice reflects up to date information and policies. Version No 1

Knowledge and Understanding

You will need to know and understand:

1. The current European and national legislation, national guidelines and local policies and protocols which affect your work practice in relation to ensuring personal fitness for work, including:
1. health and safety
2. moving and handling
2. Your responsibilities and accountability in relation to the current European and national legislation, national guidelines and local policies and protocols
3. How to access your local policies and procedures relating to:
1. health and safety
2. moving and handling
4. The importance of:
1. being fit for work
2. maintaining high standards of personal hygiene at all times
5. The causes of infection and cross-infection
6. The application of standard precautions for infection control and other relevant health and safety issues
7. Procedures for reporting:
1. the need to be absent from work for any reason
2. any episodes of any contagious illness you may have or in the people you live with to the appropriate person

Performance Criteria

You must be able to do the following:

1. make sure that you are fit for work
2. report any personal episodes of illness and infection which could compromise your work to the person in charge of your shift
3. report any episodes of illness or infection in close social contacts which could compromise your work to the person in charge of your shift
4. visit your General Practitioner or Occupational Health Service when situations occur that may compromise work
5. keep your manager fully informed of the need to be away from work
6. maintain a clean and healthy personal status
7. promptly resolve problems of personal hygiene before risk of cross infection can occur
8. ensure that all necessary health promotion schemes such as vaccination for work and social activities are taken up as advised by the Occupational Health Department
9. comply with national regulations related to viral antigen testing before starting and during employment when involved in exposure prone procedures

Additional Information

This National Occupational Standard was developed by Skills for Health. This standard links with the following dimension within the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (October 2004): Dimension: Core 3 Health, Safety and Security