Health, safety, environmental regulations and their application in the health and science sector
Health, safety and environmental regulations are a key requirement for work in the health and science sector. Students will need to develop their understanding of the various regulations that exist and be able to apply them to the workplace. For this topic, it is important that the material is taught using various examples to provide context – students need to be able to see why a specific regulation or procedure is important and what the consequences might be if it is not followed. The resources featured below provide activities that could be used to enliven the teaching of the topic through the use of context specific examples and information.
Drugs
This is a resource collection by the Wellcome Trust - of particular relevance is the sub collection on health and safety which examines various different historical instances where drug treatments and trials have gone wrong – often with disastrous consequences. The resource provides excellent thought provoking stimuli on the topic of drug treatment and considers the ethical questions that are raised when tests fail.
How Does Society Decide?
This resource was originally published by ASE as part of their SATIS 16-19 project. The focus of the resource is on society and how decisions are made and changes brought about to legislation and regulations. Topics covered include how we perceive benefits and risks, controls and regulations, the process of government and groups in decision making. Although it is quite an old publication, the comprehension activities and discussion questions are still relevant and could either be used as set out in this document.
The Avenue Reclamation Project
A suite of resources that describe the reclamation of a former coke-manufacturing plant in Chesterfield. The resources highlighted under 'risk assessment' are of particular relevance. A powerpoint presentation with notes and various worksheets and teacher guides are provided which look at the processes carried out on site. The activities provide students with a good context for understanding and practising risk assessment.
A risky business
This resource provides an opportunity to practise both mathematical data handling and consider probabilities of different accidents occurring. Students are tasked with analysing data sets and then forming conclusions. The resource is part of a wider collection from Nuffield Maths and the demand is equivalent to that in Higher Tier GCSE and Level 2 Functional Mathematics.
Laboratory Tours: Safety at Work
An interactive resource produced by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), this introduces the legal aspects of the Health and Safety regulations ncluding the concept of risk assessments and how to develop them. Various tasks are provided which enable students to perform risk assessments and a presentation can be downloaded which allows students to take a walk through a virtual corridor and two laboratories. Teacher guidance sheets and student activity sheets are included. Note that the virtual tour will need to be downloaded as the powerpoint offline version owing to the fact that Flash player is no longer supported in web browsers.
Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agencies
The UK government webpage that provides up to date information, news, guidance and reports relating to medicines and healthcare products. The information featured would provide useful context for comprehension activities and also weekly discussions around new developments.
European Medical Agency
Similar to the UK government site, this is the European Medical Agency website which again provides useful information, reports and guidance which can be used to add current context to lessons.