Health & Safety podcast: Procurement of contractors

 Any care home provider or care sector organisation that uses contractors has health and safety responsibilities. When selecting contractors, it is important to investigate them and make enquiries to ensure that you are not putting your residents, employees, and members of the public at risk.

In this episode, Neil Hughes-Hutchings, Senior Health and Safety Consultant at Napthens Health & Safety provides an overview of the importance of having a procurement procedure in place when bringing a contractor on board. In particular, the podcast covers: 

•  Risk assessment. Any organisation or individual should carry out a risk assessment for the activity they are undertaking. The significant findings of a risk assessment will usually be written unless there are fewer than five employees.  
•  A method statement details how a contractor intends to undertake a work activity and should summarise their approach to the job in hand 
• Insurance. Insurance is not a legal requirement, but it provides cover for the contractor if a member of the public or client of theirs claims because they have suffered injury or property damage as a result of the contractor’s activities.