Well yes and no. Doing the risk assessment is one thing, doing it properly another, and then actually knowing your limitation in order to correctly identify what you can and can not implement to lower the risk is another.
Far too many people stop at "it'll be fine..." and then wonder what went wrong.
The risk assessments you do at work are probably tick and flick forms you copy from the last time you did something similar, which is the worst way to manage safety but meets the requirements of the regulators!
Had an issue trying to perform a certain procedure on a patient recently. )in actual fact not on a patient but their denture)
Nurse: we can't do that without enhanced PPE
Me: We're fine in this PPE
Nurse: I'm of to speak to my manager
Clinic head Nurse: There's a risk so it's enhanced PPE
Me: Where does it say that
Clinic Head Nurse: Here,
Produces the list of procedures. This is a sheet of paper, with two columns of procedures on it, Left hand column headed Low risk, right hand column marked high risk.
Me: There's what I want to do, clearly in the low risk column
Clinic head nurse: Yes so there's a risk
Nurse, if there's a risk we have t wear enhanced PPE
Me: There's 3 columns, because there's different levels of risk therefore different levels of PPE. I want to do this, clearly in column low risk.
Nurse, if there's a risk then I want to wear enhanced PPE
Me: But you don't wear enhanced PPE for anything else on this low risk list
Nurse: If it says it's a risk then we should be wearing enhanced PPE
Clinic Head Nurse: Yes enhanced PPE if there's a risk.
Me: but the guidance says ordinary PPE for low risk
Nurse: a risk is a risk
Me: this is the national guidance,
Clinic Head Nurse: If's there's a risk then it should be enhanced PPE
Me: everything we do is on that sheet, either in low risk or high risk.
Nurse: a risk is a risk
Me: I'll just quickly speak to the Clinical Director, that will clear things up
Clinical Director: I'll email you the sheet with the list of low and high risk, show them it, that will quickly sort this out!