Policy and Procedure

Introduction

Decent Care is committed to providing a safe workplace for all team members, contractors and students. Decent Care has established a process to report and investigate all workplace accidents/incidents, hazards, and near-miss occurrences. Identification and reporting of hazards can be made by participants, team members and visitors. Once identified, the process includes addressing the contributing factors of the accident/incident or near miss and making the necessary recommendations to prevent a reoccurrence. /p>

Purpose

To provide guidelines, as far as reasonably practicable, that establishes the process for reporting, investigating and applying appropriate control measures to prevent an accident, incident or near-miss incidents from occurring. The aim is to provide safe systems of work along with a safe working environment for all Decent Care team members and students.

Principles

Decent Care’s intention is to provide a safe workplace that identifies hazards and responsibly acts on them to minimise the chance of occurrence as well as the potential impact. This includes team members’ emotional well-being that is reflected in the support that they provide to their participants.

Decent Care is guided by the Work Health and Safety Policy 2011 and Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (OHS Act) that provides a broad framework for improving standards of workplace health and safety to reduce work-related injury and illness. The WHS Act aims to:

Secure the health, safety and welfare of team members and other people at work
Protect the public from the health and safety risks of business activities
Eliminate workplace risks at the source
Involve employers, team members and the organisations that represent them in the formulation and implementation of health, safety, and welfare standards.

Policy

This policy provides direction to all Decent Care team members regarding the identification and management of potential risks, as well as the implementation of an effective risk management process in the provision of services and understanding and fulfilling of their risk management duties.

Procedure

Where team members safety is at threat
If a team member feels at any time unsafe in the provision of service, they should leave the site immediately and inform their Program Manager.
If it is not possible, or practicable, the team member should advise the participant that they need to make a phone call to the office.
When the phone is answered the team member should say:
“I have left my red folder on the desk”,
The answering person should respond: “Would you like me to call the Police?”
The team member should then respond: “Yes, I’m just at *location*”
This provides the Program Manager with the knowledge of any action required without creating or exacerbating the situation.

Immediate procedure after an incident

Assess the situation and check for danger
Remove any person(s) from danger, if safe to do so
Call emergency services (dial 000) if required
Do not alter scene (unless necessary to reduce the risk of further harm or damage); and
Report the incident to the Managing Directors immediately.

Near miss reporting
Near misses are to be reported on a WHS Incident Hazard Report Form and listed in the WHS Register as a risk to be analysed and treated. This must be completed within 24 hours of the near miss occurrence.

Where an injury or harm has occurred:
Where an injury or harm has been caused in the undertaking of work duties, team members are required to complete the following steps:

Notify the Managing Director of Operations at the earliest convenience
Seek medical or counselling support immediately
Complete an internal WHS incident form through the QR code which will be forwarded to the Managing Director of Operations

The Managing Directors will:

Investigate the incident by speaking with the injured team members and any witnesses to the incident
Identify the root cause of the incident
Record all incidents on the WHS Register
Seek opportunities to minimise re-occurrence
Document identified actions on the Continuous Improvement Register

Notifiable incident – WorkSafe
If a notifiable incident occurs or if the team members are unsure if the incident is a notifiable incident contact the Managing Directors immediately after becoming aware of the incident. Information required will be:

Name and address of the person reporting the incident
Date and time of the event
The place where the dangerous occurrence happened
Sufficient details of what happened to allow an investigation to determine the cause or causes of the incident
The nature and extent of the damage
The work that was being carried out at the time of the incident
Name and contact details of any injured or affected people; and
Contact WorkSafe and the Police (where applicable).

The person with management or control of the workplace must ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that the site where the incident occurred is not disturbed until either a WorkSafe inspector or the Managing Directors informs you that the area does not need to be preserved.

Compliance
The Managing Directors will exercise due diligence to ensure that the organisation meets the organisational responsibilities. Due diligence includes taking reasonable steps to:

Acquire and keep up-to-date knowledge of work, health and safety matters, including legislative requirements for reporting incidents
Gain an understanding of the nature of the operations of the business or undertaking and generally of the hazards and risks associated with those operations
Ensure that the organisation has appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise risks to health and safety from work carried out
Ensure that the organisation has appropriate processes for receiving, considering and investigating information about incidents
Ensure that the organisation has and implements processes for complying with duties and obligations under the WHS Act, Regulations and corresponding WHS law.

Environmental Checklist
Prior to attending participants homes, an environmental will be undertaken by the Program Manager. This checklist identifies any hazards that should be considered when attending the home: Team members are required to:

Review the checklist prior to attending the home
Undertake any risk management activity that is documented on the form
Continue to monitor the environment for any further identified risks
Document any changes to the environment on the checklist that other team members should consider when visiting the home

Responsibilities

The Managing Directors are responsible for:

Identifying and implementing control strategies once a WHS risk has been identified through the WHS risk management planning
Ensuring all accidents, incidents, and near miss, occurrences are recorded appropriately (e.g. Incident Register, WHS Register). Incident and WHS registers are located within the Organisational Master Register
Identifying and implementing control strategies once a WHS risk has been identified through the WHS risk management plan
Having investigations commence immediately upon receiving the report where a team member is injured, involving them in the investigation
Notify WorkSafe where incidents involve team members
Monitoring and reviewing controls to ensure effectiveness.

Program Managers are responsible for:

Consulting with team members who undertake work for Decent Care who are most likely to identify hazards within their roles
Ensuring team members and, where applicable, contractors are provided with induction and training, so they understand their responsibilities and carry out their role in the management of any workplace hazard or incident
Completing thorough Home Visit Risk Assessment when visiting off-site workplaces

Team members are responsible for:

Reporting accidents, incidents or near misses to the Managing Director of Operations as soon as practicable using the Hazard Report Form/ Incident report form (QR code)
Reviewing participant files prior to attending sites to check for newly identified hazards
Complying with reasonable instructions that are given by Decent Care, in order to comply with the WHS Act, Regulations and corresponding WHS law
Maintaining a tidy environment that remains free from hazards
Taking reasonable care for their own health and safety, and reasonable care that their acts or omissions do not adversely affect the health and safety of others.