WORKING IN COMMUNITY Section 2 – Procedure 4 Date of Issue: January 2013 Date of Review: January 2015
Responsibilities and Procedures BINSA requires that prior to attending or using a venue or new community setting a “Community Activity Pre-approval checklist” (See G: FORMS Form 03) will be completed and permission approved by the EO prior to using or attending such community setting. BINSA recognises and wishes to uphold the widely understood principle of a “person’s home being their castle”. An employee’s presence in someone’s home will always be by invitation and almost always be occurring within a contract of providing a person with some form of information or support. It is the responsibility of the BINSA employee to: •
Respect the person’s right to privacy and to ensure a “duty of care” for that person’s welfare at all times
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Report potential hazards/hazards to the EO
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Complete an Incident/Accident/Hazard Report & Investigation Form G:\FORMS Form 18 and bring it to the attention of the EO
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Consult directly with the individual concerned and raise the issue during a Work, Health and Safety item of the BINSA staff meeting.
It is the responsibility of BINSA to ensure employees receive appropriate training and support specific to the individual needs of the clients they support. There are many community settings and public places where the identification of potential hazards may be difficult. BINSA recognises that the way an employee will respond to a hazardous situation is dependent upon the environmental circumstances and the client, therefore all employees are expected to: •
Exercise due care for their own and client’s welfare in community settings
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Be mindful that potential hazards may take many forms including: o unsafe environment o potential/actual violent situations o client health needs
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Be aware of the Brain Injury Network’s “Behaviour Support” policy (Section 2 - Client Policy 5).
Where a potential/hazard is identified with a community setting the appropriate procedure is to: •
Seek resolution within that setting, for e.g. by approaching the manager of the facility
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Approach the EO for additional direction and support
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If in a client’s home take appropriate measures to remove self from hazard.
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Where ongoing risks to an employee’s or clients’ safety have been identified, it is BINSA’s responsibility to develop procedures that attempt to address and minimise the risk of use of that setting or to choose another venue. It is the responsibility of management to ensure all employees are aware of, trained in and use all of these procedures. It is an employees’ responsibility to ensure that they abide by the procedures as directed by the employer. In any circumstances, where there is an extreme threat to the health and safety of a person being supported, or others in the vicinity, or an employee, the employee should take all reasonable steps to remove both themselves and the person being supported from the threat. This should then be immediately reported to the management using the “Incident/Accident/Hazard report and investigation form and with due regard to the Behaviour Support Policy.
Working Alone on BINSA’s Premises If on BINSA premises and working alone ensure that: •
Automatic doors are locked (on ground floor)
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Entrance door (self-locking) is closed on first floor.
It is important to inform a co-worker when leaving; if that remaining person will then be working alone on the premises after your departure. The person last to leave is responsible for securing the premises as per the list on the inside of the exit door.
RELEVANT LINKS
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Standard Operating procedures (SOPs) – N/A Operational Instructions (OI) – N/A Forms (F) Form 03 Community Activity Pre-approval Risk Assessment Checklist ..\..\..\..\Policies & procedures\Forms\Form 03 - Community Activity Pre-approval Risk Assessment Checklist.doc Form 18 Incident/Accident/Hazard Report and Investigation ..\..\..\..\Policies & procedures\Forms\Form 18 - Incident-Accident-Hazard Report and Investigation.doc
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