Incident Management

Regis takes all resident and client incidents very seriously.

If a resident or client is involved in an incident, Regis follows the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission’s Effective Incident Management Systems: Best Practice Guidance:

• As soon as we become aware of an incident, those impacted by the incident will be immediately assessed to ensure their health, safety and wellbeing. This may include, for example, arranging a GP review or in an emergency situation, calling an ambulance.
• An employee will document the incident in an incident report. This incident report is then reviewed by the Manager, who is responsible for investigating the incident to understand what caused it to occur and whether there were any operational issues that contributed to it.
• When the cause of the incident is known, the team will work with the resident, client and their family to implement appropriate actions to prevent the incident from happening again. Other healthcare providers may be involved in this step too.
• Throughout this process, Regis will use an open disclosure approach (see further information below) which means that there will be timely, transparent and ongoing discussion with the resident, client and their family about the incident.
• Through the open disclosure discussion, the resident, client and their family will always be given an opportunity to be involved in the management and resolution of an incident.
• Under certain circumstances, an incident may be notifiable to an external agency, such as the Police, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (see further information below), WorkSafe and the Coroner. Regis has systems in place to ensure that incidents are appropriately notified to external agencies.

If you are involved in an incident, Regis has systems in place to ensure that you are supported. This support can include:

• Meeting with the senior staff at the Home or Service to discuss and review your ongoing care needs through a Clinical Care Review or Care Plan Consultation.
• Accessing counselling services through a Regis initiative called Esprit Café. This is a confidential and free service available at all Regis Residential Aged Care Homes where residents and their families can access an on-site trained social worker.
• Access to counselling and debriefing services through the Regis Employee Assistance Program (EAP). This is a confidential service that is accessible to Regis residents, clients and their family.
• Access to an independent advocate through the Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN).

To find out how you can access any of the above services, please speak to your Home or Service Manager, or call Regis on 1300 998 100.

If you are concerned about an incident that has occurred, please speak with the Home or Service Manager. Alternatively, you can provide feedback in a number of other ways.

Provide Feedback

Open disclosure is a very important part of Regis’ response to an incident. Open disclosure is the timely and transparent discussion with the resident, client, their family and healthcare providers (as relevant) about the incident.

Open disclosure includes:

• apologising for what went wrong
• explaining the known facts
• listening to the experience of the resident or client
• explaining how the incident may affect the resident or client and their care required
• explaining the steps being taken to prevent it from happening again.

Open disclosure can take place over one or more discussions.

The Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) requires all aged care providers and Home Care Services to have effective incident management systems in place. In addition, providers and services must notify the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission when eight types of reportable incidents occur:

• Unreasonable use of force – for example, hitting, pushing, shoving, or rough handling a resident or client
• Unlawful sexual contact or inappropriate sexual conduct – such as sexual threats against a resident or client, stalking, or sexual activities without consent
• Neglect of a consumer – for example, withholding personal care, untreated wounds, or insufficient assistance during meals
• Psychological or emotional abuse – such as yelling, name calling, ignoring a resident or client, threatening gestures, or refusing a resident or client access to care or services as a means of punishment
• Unexpected death – where reasonable steps were not taken to prevent the death, the death is the result of care or services provided or a failure to provide care and services
• Stealing or financial coercion by a staff member – for example, if a staff member coerces a resident or client to change their will to their advantage, or steals valuables from the resident or client
• Inappropriate use of restrictive practices – for example, where a restrictive practice is used without prior consent or in a non-emergency situation
• Unexplained absence from care – where the resident is absent from the Home without explanation and there are reasonable grounds to report the absence to the police.

Incidents that are not one of the eight reportable incident types listed above are not required to be reported to the Commission. However, depending on the circumstances, they may need to be reported to another government body.

Reportable incidents must always be reported within set timeframes depending on the level of harm and/or discomfort caused to the resident or client. Incidents with a higher level of harm need to be reported to the Commission within 24 hours, and incidents with a lower level of harm need to be reported within 30 days.

For further information about the Serious Incident Response Scheme, refer to the Commission’s website.