EAC risk assessment tools – Criteria for completing a local risk assessment – Social care
September 2024, version 2a
To support care settings and employers to undertake a local risk assessment in the context of
managing seasonal respiratory viral infections focussing on influenza, SARS- CoV-2 and respiratory
syncytial virus (RSV) and any other acute respiratory illness (ARI) based on measures as prioritised in
the hierarchy of controls.
This includes:
- A set of risk mitigation measures prioritised in the order: elimination, substitution,
engineering, administrative controls, and PPE (including respiratory protective equipment
[RPE]). - Risk assessments must be carried out in all areas by a competent person with the skills,
knowledge, and experience to be able to recognise the hazards associated with respiratory
infectious agents: this can be the employer, or a person specifically appointed to complete the
risk assessment. Communication should take place with employees during this process and on
completion of the risk assessment.
The completed risk assessment can be used to populate local risk management systems.