Providers of Commonwealth Home and Community Care
EMERGENCY RISK MANAGEMENT PLANS 2014-15
As the high risk season for major Australian weather events and bushfires approaches it is vital that all aged care services are well prepared and able to respond to a range of emergency events that may impact delivery of care.
Vulnerable people in the community, including HACC clients, can be particularly susceptible to the impacts of extreme weather events. Some events may not directly impact your community but may still cause loss of communication and power, damage to roads and rail services, and interruption to the delivery of supplies including food, fuel and medical supplies. As a result, your service may experience staff and volunteer shortages, difficultly accessing electronic records and trouble obtaining essential supplies. You may have to prioritise or even suspend delivery of services for a period of time during major emergency events.
Maintaining quality care under these circumstances requires effective emergency risk management planning by providers and support from all levels of government.
I encourage you to review your risk management plans to ensure they are current and practical. To assist you with reviewing your plans I have attached a list of considerations. This list is not all inclusive; items on this list may be more or less relevant to your situation, and there may be other considerations relevant to your particular circumstances. State and territory health and emergency management agencies also publish emergency management planning information relevant to each jurisdiction.
Testing of key elements of your plans is highly recommended, for example running a practice emergency exercise ensures people understand their roles and responsibilities.
Under Home Care Standard One expected outcome 1.6: Risk Management providers are required to have processes in place for identifying and managing potential risk, including developing alternative plans for vulnerable service users if service provision is interrupted due to local weather conditions, natural or man-made disasters.
Plans should be tailored to service locations and circumstances in consultation with local emergency response agencies. State and territory governments have primary responsibility for emergency management in their jurisdictions. Local governments also have an important role to play in planning, preparedness, response and recovery. It is important to engage and maintain communication with these governments in your area including participation in emergency management forums for community groups, including aged care providers.
Providers have an important role to play to ensure that aged care recipients continue to receive quality care during emergency events. I urge you to ensure you are well prepared for any events which may impact your service in the future.
Yours sincerely
Authorised for electronic transmission
James Christian
Group Manager
Aged Care Quality and Compliance
08 October 2014
Preparation for an emergency event for Commonwealth HACC services
The following considerations may help you to develop or review your Activity Continuity Plans for service delivery during emergency events:
Before the event
□ Consider the types of events that are most likely to affect your area (bushfire, flood etc).
□ Ensure you are aware of any state/territory or regional/local emergency management, arrangements, requirements and resources, including possible trigger points for evacuation, or ways to alert response agencies to the location of vulnerable clients.
□ Contact local emergency services to seek advice about local arrangements and ask whether they need contact details for your service. Ensure that all your key personnel know how to contact local emergency services if required.
□ Consider the needs of vulnerable clients. This should include options for ensuring continuation of services to the extent possible in the event of an emergency including collaboration with other services being delivered to the same clients.
□ Develop a plan for recovery following an event including post event counselling for staff and volunteers.
□ Discuss Activity Continuity Plans with staff and volunteers.
□ Undertake exercises to test key parts of your plan to ensure staff and volunteers understand their specific responsibilities. This also allows you to determine whether there are any gaps or other areas you need to consider.
□ Provide appropriate information about your plan to clients.
□ Raise awareness among clients and their families on how they can prepare for an emergency event including information on help available from emergency agencies.
During the event
□ Monitor emergency broadcasts and the media for local warnings and advice during periods of high risk.
□ Liaise with local emergency service agencies to determine the seriousness of any emergency situation and the level of risk posed to your organisation and clients.
□ Activate your Activity Continuity Plan in a timely manner giving full consideration to the risks involved.
□ Use a risk assessment approach to ensure that services are delivered in a prioritised way to clients who have not evacuated, taking into account those who are most vulnerable.
□ Arrange to have vulnerable clients serviced by other providers if you are unable to continue to provide services due to staffing or other impacts.
□ Refer vulnerable clients to emergency service agencies if assistance is needed with evacuation or other essential help.
□ Keep staff, volunteers and clients well informed during any emergency situation.
□ Provide advice to the Department of Social Services (DSS) about the impact of the event on your service and clients, including what alternative arrangements you have put in place, when it is safe to do so.
Following the event
□ Assess the impact of the event on your service and clients, and take steps to recommence all services as soon as possible.
□ Liaise with and request assistance as required from local agencies providing recovery and other relevant services.
□ Review and amend your Continuity Activity Plans, as needed.
You need to consider how not delivering a service during an emergency event will affect your clients. Particular consideration should be given to clients who:
· live alone or with an individual with similar or greater level of needs
· receive nursing services (such as wound management)
· receive life-sustaining services including meals, or technologies such as oxygen.
You should also consider the effect on clients who are:
· unlikely to be able to relocate without assistance
· unable to make an independent decision due to cognitive or other impairment
· socially or geographically isolated
· live in a particularly high risk area (for instance bushfire, flood)
· difficult to make contact with in the event of an emergency (i.e. have limited or unreliable telephone service, or are deaf).
The service plans developed with your clients should note any specific arrangements that may be put in place by your service for emergency events.
Contact with the Department of Social Services (DSS)
Service providers must notify DSS if they are unable to meet their obligations under the Aged Care Funding Agreement due to a serious incident such as an emergency event or natural disaster. You are expected to take all reasonable steps to continue to deliver services as far as possible during the event and to recommence full service delivery as soon as possible afterwards.
In the circumstance of your service being affected by an emergency event, it is expected that you will make contact with DSS, when it is safe to do so, to:
· advise if you are unable to continue to provide an adequate level of service to the clients you have identified as vulnerable; and
· advise what actions you have undertaken to reduce the risk to vulnerable clients (eg. referred to emergency services or notified family/emergency contacts).
In Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia DSS has dedicated Emergency Response numbers:
Victoria - 1800 078 709
New South Wales - 1800 852 649
South Australia – 1800 288 475
All other contacts should be directed to the Aged Care Complaints Scheme on 1800 550 552.
In the event of a major emergency, officers from DSS may contact you to:
· determine the impact of the event on delivery of your service, and whether or not any additional assistance required is being arranged for your clients; and/or
· ask whether your service may be able to support any additional clients from other service providers who are unable to continue to deliver services.
The Department appreciates your support in responding to this contact, which will be kept to an essential minimum.