When an incident occurs, there may be ‘remedial’ steps necessary to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
These are generally identified while analysing the incident. These actions aim to resolve a specific incident, improve the service or care provided, shape training and reduce future risk or harm.
When implementing actions, solutions need to be implemented and monitored, and the outcome communicated and recorded.
When an incident occurs, your service may need to take steps to prevent similar incidents from reoccurring.
These are generally identified during element 4 analysing the incident on the IMS cycle. These actions look to resolve a specific incident, improve the service or care provided, shape training, and reduce future risk or harm.
These steps are also known as solutions and need to be implemented, monitored and the outcome communicated and recorded.
Your role
You are responsible for managing an incident and overseeing the implementation of remedial actions.
Solutions identified during the analysis phase can be broken down into a series of actions and implemented by your team and at times, applied in sequential order.
Your role
You are responsible for supporting the solution for the incidents.
Solutions can be broken down into a series of actions or steps. It may be the responsibility of one or several people within your team and at times these solutions need to be applied sequentially.
When implementing actions, your manager should first design an action plan outlining clear expectation, responsibilities and expected results. This will also include regular check-in points with you to ensure continued success, make changes as needed or to provide additional support. You should provide timely updates when an action has not been successful, and changes are needed. In this case, you will record these changes in your IMS and communicate them with the relevant parties.
Determining appropriate remedial actions
Whenever an incident occurs, you should consider whether:
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it could have been prevented or its impact reduced if some actions had been taken
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there is an ongoing risk to consumers, visitors, workers, or others after the incident
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there are actions that can be taken to prevent or reduce the risk of it occurring again.
The next step in the 5-step problem-solving approach, introduced on analysing the incident, is step 4 ‘select and implement a solution’. This step looks to implement appropriate actions or solutions identified during the analysis or investigation of the incident.
Note: not all identified actions from an analysis or investigation may be appropriate to introduce. You must understand the impact and relevance of the action(s) for your service when making these determinations.
What do remedial actions look like?
Remedial actions may include:
- providing or mandating individual and/or service-wide staff training or re-training
- making changes to your organisational or clinical governance frameworks
- reviewing and updating your practices and procedures or developing new procedures to support staff to manage risks
- making changes to your environment or equipment
- taking actions to promote a safe culture of care
- making additional staff available to assist consumers with certain activities
- seeking specialist assistance and/or implementing alternate strategies
- updating care planning documents to address the cause or impacts of the incident.
- attending training or re-training
- understanding changes made by your service relating to the service and care delivered
- changing or adjusting work practices and keeping up to date with procedural changes.
- making changes to your environment or equipment
- participating in activities to build a culture of safety
- adjusting practices to best meet needs of consumers, this may include working with other workers when doing certain activities
- knowing when to seek third party help e.g. specialist help to introduce alternate solutions or strategies
- updating care planning documents to address the cause or impacts of the incident.
Disciplinary actions
In parallel with other actions, there may also be human resources responsibilities to consider and action. This may include appropriate disciplinary action(s) when managing your team.
You should ensure that any organisational changes made in response to an incident are well communicated to consumers and their representatives, other workers and any other affected third parties.
Disciplinary actions
There may be performance or disciplinary actions that need to be addressed after an incident. This may include performance management, implementing a probationary period, standing down pending the outcome of an investigation or in some cases termination of employment.
You need to work with your manager to set clear expectations for incident management, including who communicates progress updates to impacted parties and who determines alternate solutions if initial actions have not been successful.
How to implement a ‘remedial’ action plan
Once you have determined the most effective course of action to take, your next step is to create a remedial action plan.
Ensure workers are aware of the importance of remedial actions and their role and expectations in this process. This should be reflected in your policies and procedures. Having regular check-ins with workers will allow for continued success.
When creating and implementing a ‘remedial’ action plan ensure you:
How to implement a ‘remedial’ action plan
Once you have determined the most effective course of action to take, your next step is to create a remedial action plan.
Make sure you are aware of the importance of remedial actions and your role in this process. This should be reflected in your policies and procedures. Having regular check-ins with your manager will allow for continued success.
When creating and implementing a ‘remedial’ action plan ensure you:
Communicating updates & findings
Ensure you maintain open communication channels and engage with key parties impacted by the incident. This includes providing progress updates and also discussing outcomes. You should ensure that any organisational changes made in response to an incident are well communicated to consumers and their representatives, staff and other third parties.
When talking to consumers and their representatives about incident findings and actions, use open disclosure and consider:
Communicating updates & findings
When communicating incident findings and actions to consumers, their representatives, use open disclosure and consider:
- the level of impact and appropriate response can be different for someone with dementia, mental health diagnoses or intellectual disabilities
- psychological distress may not be obvious, and has the incident had an impact on the consumer's usual wellbeing
- the views of the affected person, as well as their representative/s and other people who know them well (e.g. workers and health professionals)
- attaching relevant supporting documents, such as your internal incident form.
Where third parties, such as the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission, were notified of a reportable incident, they will also need to be consulted when solutions have been implemented.