Health, Safety and Wellbeing in the Home
What this domain tests
Spotting hazards at home, assessing risk, choosing proportionate controls and recognising the health and wellbeing needs of different household members.
Core rules
- Hazard types: biological, chemical, physical, ergonomic and psychological.
- Risk = likelihood × severity; you assess the risk, not just the hazard.
- Five steps: identify hazards; decide who might be harmed and how; evaluate risks and set controls; record; review and update.
- Hierarchy of control: eliminate, substitute, engineer the risk out, then administrative controls, with personal protective equipment as the last resort.
- Priority home accidents: falls, burns and scalds, poisoning, choking and suffocation, drowning, electrical injury.
- Fire: working smoke alarms, a practised escape plan, a fire blanket for a pan fire (never water), exits kept clear. Carbon monoxide is an odourless gas from faulty fuel-burning appliances - a CO alarm is not a smoke alarm.
- Electrical: RCD protection, no water near sockets, check cables, avoid overloading adaptors.
- Chemicals and medicines: keep in original containers, locked away, child-resistant lids, never decant into drinks bottles.
- Vulnerable groups: under-fives, older adults, disabled people and pregnant women.
- Wellbeing: sleep, physical activity, social connection, mental health and work–life balance.
Worked example
Bathroom risk assessment for an 80-year-old with arthritis. Hazards are a slippery floor (falls), hot water (scalds) and difficulty standing (ergonomic strain). Controls in hierarchy order: grab rails and a shower seat (engineering), a thermostatic mixing valve limiting water to 46 °C, non-slip flooring, good lighting and a night light, then instruction in their use. Record the assessment and review it after any change in mobility.
Traps that cost marks
- Jumping to "be careful" or protective equipment instead of engineering controls.
- Confusing a CO alarm with a smoke alarm.
- Describing a hazard when the question asks for a risk.
- Treating risk assessment as a document written once.