The second phase of the IMS cycle, when an incident happens, examines how to respond, record and report an incident.
When an incident occurs, you must take immediate action to provide support and assistance to those involved. Examine the level of harm or impact to those involved in the incident and ensure that there are no further threats or safety issues that need immediate attention.
The second phase of the IMS cycle, when an incident happens, examines how to respond, record and report an incident.
When an incident occurs, you must take immediate action to support and assist those involved. During your response, you must examine the level of harm or impact to those involved in the incident and ensure there are no further threats or safety issues that need immediate attention.
How incidents and near misses are identified
Incidents and near misses may be discovered in a number of ways including:
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a worker or another consumer observing the incident
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a consumer making a disclosure about the incident
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another person informing a worker that an incident occurred.
Incident response occurs when the incident happens or upon its discovery when it is later discovered. Incidents may be easier to identify when witnessed; however, all incidents and near misses must be responded to to reduce possible future harm.
Your incident management system should outline expectations for workers who identify that an incident has or is alleged or suspected to have occurred.
How incidents and near misses are identified
Incidents and near misses may be discovered by you, another worker, a consumer or third party. This can occur as the incident happens or when it is later discovered. Incidents may be easier to identify when witnessed, however all incidents and near misses must be responded to when you or your service becomes aware.
Where no harm has occurred, a near miss must still be responded to, to reduce possible future harm.
Supporting affected individuals
You must take immediate action to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of those involved in an incident. You should assess the support and assistance required for those affected by the incident.
As part of your assessment, you should consider the level of harm or impact on anyone involved in the incident and what actions can be taken to reduce this harm or impact and ensure each person’s health, safety, physical and psychological wellbeing.
Supporting affected individuals
Checking the health, safety and wellbeing of those involved in an incident must always be the first priority in your response. Follow your service’s policies and undertake available training so you know how to support and assist each affected person’s needs. Consider both the physical and psychological impacts of each incident on your consumers.
Supporting affected individuals
Checking the health, safety and wellbeing of those involved in an incident must always be the first step in response to an incident. In home care, this will often be actioned by your workers. Policies and training should outline how workers should support affected consumers.
As part of your assessment, you should consider the level of harm or impact on anyone involved in the incident and what actions can be taken to reduce this harm and ensure each person’s health, safety, physical and psychological wellbeing.
Supporting affected individuals
Checking the health, safety and wellbeing of those involved in an incident must always be the first step in response to an incident. In home care, this may be actioned by you while working in consumers’ homes.
Follow your service’s policies and undertake available training so you know how best to support and assist each affected person’s needs. Consider both the physical and psychological impacts of each incident on your consumers.
Using open disclosure
Open disclosure is the open discussion that an aged care provider has with consumers when something goes wrong that has harmed or had the potential to cause harm to a consumer.
Your service should practice honest and timely open disclosure when responding to incidents. Consumer trust and confidence in your service will be damaged if your service is slow to respond or perceived to be attempting to cover up incidents.
Promoting a safe place for consumers to report incidents is important. Some consumers may be uncomfortable or concerned about reporting incidents due to fear of others finding out or reprisals. Practicing open disclosure helps your consumers gain more insights and ensure that their voice is heard.
Providing your workers with training and education on open disclosure will assist them to engage with consumers in this way.
Using open disclosure
Open disclosure is the open discussion that an aged care provider has with consumers when something goes wrong that has harmed or had the potential to cause harm to a consumer.
Your service should practice honest and timely open disclosure when responding to incidents. Consumer trust and confidence in your service is damaged if your service is slow to respond or perceived to be attempting to cover up incidents.
Promoting a safe place for consumers to report incidents is important. However, some consumers may be uncomfortable or concerned about reporting incidents due to fear of others finding out. Practicing open disclosure helps your consumers to gain more insights and ensure that their voices will be heard.
Taking part in available training and education on practicing open disclosure can assist you to engage with consumers in this way.
Creating an incident response plan
It is good practice for your service to have policies, procedures and an incident response plan to respond to incidents. An incident response plan provides the steps to follow after an incident has occurred.
The following are items you can include in your incident response policies, procedures and plan.
Using an incident response plan
You must know what is expected of you when responding to an incident. Refer to your service's policies, procedures and incident response plan.
The following are actions you may see in your service’s incident response plan.