Incident Management

Pathways to Better Living Pty Ltd – Incident Management Policy

Introduction

This policy defines incidents including serious incidents and incidents which are reportable to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission. An incident is broadly defined as:

• Any event or circumstance that resulted, or could have resulted, in unintended and/or unnecessary harm to a person, or loss or damage to property
• A near miss which did not cause harm, but had the potential to do so
• A medication error involving a preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or harm to a participant while being supported
• Any event which deviates from standard policy or procedure
• Anything illegal (e.g. assault, sexual misconduct, fraud).

• Applies to supports and services provided to all participants
• Applies to all representatives including key management personnel, directors, full time workers, part time workers, casual workers, contractors and volunteers

Our commitment

• We are committed to ensure the rights of people with disability are upheld and supported
• We aim to provide a high standard of duty of care and to ensure the safety and well-being of each participant using our services, our employees and members of our community
• We will foster a culture of continuous improvement with a proactive approach to preventing incidents
• If an incident occurs, we will promptly and appropriately respond to the incident in an equitable, objective and fair manner
• We will record all incidents, report (if required) and investigate (if required)
• We will ensure the principles of procedural fairness are maintained by providing those affected an opportunity to give their side of the story and to comment on any adverse views
• We will maintain an incident management system to aid in recording, managing and resolving incidents
• The incident management policy and process is accessible to workers via the Comm.Care system
• The incident management policy and process is provided to participants and stakeholders via email or hard copy during on-boarding and at any time by request

Organisational responsibilities when responding to incidents

When responding to an incident it is the organisation’s responsibility to:

• Immediately respond to an incident to ensure the safety and wellbeing of participants and others at risk
• Report to police (if appropriate)
• Contact relevant support services e.g. sexual assault support services (if appropriate)
• Preserve evidence of the incident
• Notify relevant next of kin, family or guardian (as appropriate)
• Plan and undertake actions to provide ongoing support to those affected by the incident
• Document key actions undertaken in an internal incident report
• Record incidents in an internal incident register

Reporting incidents

Incidents that must be reported to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission include any incident that involves:

• The death of a participant
• The serious injury of a participant
• Abuse or neglect of the participant
• Unlawful sexual or physical contact with, or assault of, a participant
• Sexual misconduct committed against, or in the presence of, a participant, including grooming for sexual activity
• Unauthorised use of restrictive practice in relation to a participant

Other incidents may require reporting to other agencies, for example:

• Data breach or breach of personal information (OAIC)
• Injury or death of a worker while on duty (local state or territory – WHS authority)

Any incident involving crimes such as assault, theft and fraud must be reported to police

Responsibilities of key management personnel

• Ensure employees have the necessary skills to manage incidents
• Record serious incidents
• Manage escalated incidents and serious incidents
• Report any serious incidents to the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
• Respond to any media enquiries
• Investigate incidents or arrange an external investigator to investigate
• Review Incidents and initiate improvements

Responsibilities of workers

• Resolving incidents
• Recording incidents
• Escalating incidents they can’t resolve to key management personnel
• Escalating serious incidents to key management personnel