Gloucester Outdoor Church

Policy and Procedure for Reporting Events (Incidents)

Policy drawn up by Alex Cole Jul 2015. To be reviewed July 2017.

At times at Gloucester Outdoor Church (GOC), church leaders / volunteers may need to make decisions about people that come to the services, in order to keep people safe and healthy. This is in line with our Vulnerable Adult and Child Safeguarding policies and Health and Safety policy. GOC church leaders / volunteers need to report those decisions to make them accountable and recorded. This policy describes what to do in the case of an incident, and how to report it. Please see also the Safeguarding policy.

What is a reportable event?

In the experience of GOC crisis situations may arise when the person involved has little decision-making capacity, so GOC church leaders / volunteers have to make a considered judgement and take action in the interest of those affected.

Procedure

  1. Before any event occurs, as much as possible should be done to prevent it: members of the congregation are asked to keep an eye out for trouble, especially people who seem unstable (e.g. off their medication) and might try to quickly steal something e.g. an airpot. Long-attending church members are given “What to do if there's trouble” cards (below). To recognise that we can reach out even to people who are aggressive in the knowledge that they may be struggling with their own issues, and in the hope that they change. To seek more information about aggression and gangs from the police and other knowledgeable authorities in Gloucester. To liaise with the parkkeeper to prevent any trouble.
  2. On a situation arising that could involve potential harm to a congregant or to the public in general the church leader / volunteer at first aware of the situation should immediately raise their concern with a church leader, so decisions can be made together. Volunteers should not make phone calls to outside agencies without consulting one or two church leaders.

Note that filming the person involved may deter them from acting violently.

3. If a person who has come to the church service appear to be at risk to congregants / the public:

If they are intoxicated / high / aggressive and are acting in a way that could harm a congregant / the public, then phone the police on 101 or 999 depending on severity of situation. It may be necessary to halt the church service: in which case see cancellation policy.

If they seem to have severe mental health issues which are making them a danger to congregants / the public, then phone the Crisis Mental Health team (0800 169 0398 option 2 or 01452 894240), who can come to do an assessment on them, or the police (101/999, depending on severity).

If they appear to be at risk of harm from others (e.g. in a vulnerable situation, have nowhere to sleep that night):

If they are under 18, then phone the Children and Families Helpdesk: 01452 426565 (if outside 9am-5pm phone Emergency Duty Team (EDT) – 01452 614194). If no answer and they are single 16-25 with no children, could try 9am-5pm NightStop 01452 331330. If all these fail, contact police on 101.

If they are 18 or over, contact StreetLink (0300 5000914).

◦Also, if they are vulnerable (e.g. have children, or severe learning disabilities or mental health issues), also contact the council (01452 396396 and ask for the homeless Housing Service). If outside 9am-5pm, contact Emergency Duty Team (EDT) – 01452 614194. Also contact the Adult Social Care Helpdesk 9am-5pm 01452 4268686.

◦If they are not vulnerable, contact P3 (01452 505425/1). If no answer, treat as if they are vulnerable (see above).

If they are a refugee or asylum-seeker, contact GARAS (01452 550528).

If there is a medical emergency, contact Alex Cole or Bleddwyn Evans who have attended EFAW Emergency First Aid at Work courses in 2014, or the medical centre which is adjacent to the park, very near the bandstand.

If we witness someone being attacked to call the police and not to get involved if it could cause harm to church members: although to weigh that up with potential loss of life.

4. It is not enough just to contact another organisation. If we are not happy that the person(s) involved will be safe as a result of their actions, then:

If the situation requires a higher level of authority establish who within the organisation you are contacting has decision-making power and contact them. If the person you speak to seems incapable of dealing with the situation, ask to speak to their manager / contact someone else within the organisation.

If necessary a church leader/volunteer discussion should be held to discuss and establish what further steps to take.

In the absence of a decision maker at statutory level, it may be necessary to make a decision internally, as discussed, agreed and acted upon.

Reporting on the event

  1. If there has been a medical accident, fill in the Accident Report Form (see Health and Safety Policy). If there has been a reportable event (an Incident), fill in the Incident Report form (see end of this policy), recording all action taken.
  1. Notify the nominated trustee, the Chair in the first instance, and record the response.
  2. Create a new file if this is a new case, or copy the information into the relevant file on this person / event.
  3. Where appropriate inform relevant statutory body of action taken. Note that fatal accidents, major injuries, injuries which involve being absent for work for more than 7 days, and reportable diseases for example certain poisonings, infections such as legionellosis and hepatitis, and other conditions such as certain musculo-skeletal disorders, need to be reported to RIDDOR – phone 0845 300 9923.

Afterwards

Debrief and reflect on the incident with the relevant church leaders / volunteers: could we have made better decisions? How could we have avoided this situation happening in the first place? Is everyone OK with the event and its consequences? Is counselling needed in the event of something very traumatic happening? Communicate steps taken with trustees.

For every new incident, a separate file is to be created, with a new incident number. Underneath the incident log, we will record the information on each subsequent event.

For every

Here is a small card containing a summary of the above information for volunteers / church leaders for quick reference:

What to do if there's trouble:
- Talk to another church leader/volunteer. Do NOT contact outside agencies (e.g. police) without consulting a church leader.
- If they are drunk/high/aggressive phone police 101 / 999. Shut down service if necessary.
- If they have severe mental health issues which are making them a threat, phone police 101/999 and/or Crisis Mental Health team 894240.
- If they are at risk from others e.g. homeless/vulnerable: If under 18, phone council 426565 or NightStop 331330 or police 101. If they are over 18, phone StreetLink 0300 5000 914. If they are vulnerable (have children / severe learning disabilities) contact council's Housing Service 396396 and possibly Council 426868 and the Adult Social Care helpdesk 426868. If not vulnerable contact P3 505425/1. If refugee / asylum-seeker contact GARAS 550528.
- If medical emergency contact Alex / Bleddwyn / the medical centre next to the bandstand.
- Contacting other agencies isn't enough: make sure everything is done to make people safe. Afterwards, fill in the Incident report form, tell chair of trustees, debrief. If severe accident contact RIDDOR 0845 300 9923. / What to do if there's trouble:
- Talk to another church leader/volunteer. Do NOT contact outside agencies (e.g. police) without consulting a church leader.
- If they are drunk/high/aggressive phone police 101 / 999. Shut down service if necessary.
- If they have severe mental health issues which are making them a threat, phone police 101/999 and/or Crisis Mental Health team 894240.
- If they are at risk from others e.g. homeless/vulnerable: If under 18, phone council 426565 or NightStop 331330 or police 101. If they are over 18, phone StreetLink 0300 5000 914. If they are vulnerable (have children / severe learning disabilities) contact council's Housing Service 396396 and possibly Council 426868 and the Adult Social Care helpdesk 426868. If not vulnerable contact P3 505425/1. If refugee / asylum-seeker contact GARAS 550528.
- If medical emergency contact Alex / Bleddwyn / the medical centre next to the bandstand.
- Contacting other agencies isn't enough: make sure everything is done to make people safe. Afterwards, fill in the Incident report form, tell chair of trustees, debrief. If severe accident contact RIDDOR 0845 300 9923.
What to do if there's trouble:
- Talk to another church leader/volunteer. Do NOT contact outside agencies (e.g. police) without consulting a church leader.
- If they are drunk/high/aggressive phone police 101 / 999. Shut down service if necessary.
- If they have severe mental health issues which are making them a threat, phone police 101/999 and/or Crisis Mental Health team 894240.
- If they are at risk from others e.g. homeless/vulnerable: If under 18, phone council 426565 or NightStop 331330 or police 101. If they are over 18, phone StreetLink 0300 5000 914. If they are vulnerable (have children / severe learning disabilities) contact council's Housing Service 396396 and possibly Council 426868 and the Adult Social Care helpdesk 426868. If not vulnerable contact P3 505425/1. If refugee / asylum-seeker contact GARAS 550528.
- If medical emergency contact Alex / Bleddwyn / the medical centre next to the bandstand.
- Contacting other agencies isn't enough: make sure everything is done to make people safe. Afterwards, fill in the Incident report form, tell chair of trustees, debrief. If severe accident contact RIDDOR 0845 300 9923. / What to do if there's trouble:
- Talk to another church leader/volunteer. Do NOT contact outside agencies (e.g. police) without consulting a church leader.
- If they are drunk/high/aggressive phone police 101 / 999. Shut down service if necessary.
- If they have severe mental health issues which are making them a threat, phone police 101/999 and/or Crisis Mental Health team 894240.
- If they are at risk from others e.g. homeless/vulnerable: If under 18, phone council 426565 or NightStop 331330 or police 101. If they are over 18, phone StreetLink 0300 5000 914. If they are vulnerable (have children / severe learning disabilities) contact council's Housing Service 396396 and possibly Council 426868 and the Adult Social Care helpdesk 426868. If not vulnerable contact P3 505425/1. If refugee / asylum-seeker contact GARAS 550528.
- If medical emergency contact Alex / Bleddwyn / the medical centre next to the bandstand.
- Contacting other agencies isn't enough: make sure everything is done to make people safe. Afterwards, fill in the Incident report form, tell chair of trustees, debrief. If severe accident contact RIDDOR 0845 300 9923.
What to do if there's trouble:
- Talk to another church leader/volunteer. Do NOT contact outside agencies (e.g. police) without consulting a church leader.
- If they are drunk/high/aggressive phone police 101 / 999. Shut down service if necessary.
- If they have severe mental health issues which are making them a threat, phone police 101/999 and/or Crisis Mental Health team 894240.
- If they are at risk from others e.g. homeless/vulnerable: If under 18, phone council 426565 or NightStop 331330 or police 101. If they are over 18, phone StreetLink 0300 5000 914. If they are vulnerable (have children / severe learning disabilities) contact council's Housing Service 396396 and possibly Council 426868 and the Adult Social Care helpdesk 426868. If not vulnerable contact P3 505425/1. If refugee / asylum-seeker contact GARAS 550528.
- If medical emergency contact Alex / Bleddwyn / the medical centre next to the bandstand.
- Contacting other agencies isn't enough: make sure everything is done to make people safe. Afterwards, fill in the Incident report form, tell chair of trustees, debrief. If severe accident contact RIDDOR 0845 300 9923. / What to do if there's trouble:
- Talk to another church leader/volunteer. Do NOT contact outside agencies (e.g. police) without consulting a church leader.
- If they are drunk/high/aggressive phone police 101 / 999. Shut down service if necessary.
- If they have severe mental health issues which are making them a threat, phone police 101/999 and/or Crisis Mental Health team 894240.
- If they are at risk from others e.g. homeless/vulnerable: If under 18, phone council 426565 or NightStop 331330 or police 101. If they are over 18, phone StreetLink 0300 5000 914. If they are vulnerable (have children / severe learning disabilities) contact council's Housing Service 396396 and possibly Council 426868 and the Adult Social Care helpdesk 426868. If not vulnerable contact P3 505425/1. If refugee / asylum-seeker contact GARAS 550528.
- If medical emergency contact Alex / Bleddwyn / the medical centre next to the bandstand.
- Contacting other agencies isn't enough: make sure everything is done to make people safe. Afterwards, fill in the Incident report form, tell chair of trustees, debrief. If severe accident contact RIDDOR 0845 300 9923.
What to do if there's trouble:
- Talk to another church leader/volunteer. Do NOT contact outside agencies (e.g. police) without consulting a church leader.
- If they are drunk/high/aggressive phone police 101 / 999. Shut down service if necessary.
- If they have severe mental health issues which are making them a threat, phone police 101/999 and/or Crisis Mental Health team 894240.
- If they are at risk from others e.g. homeless/vulnerable: If under 18, phone council 426565 or NightStop 331330 or police 101. If they are over 18, phone StreetLink 0300 5000 914. If they are vulnerable (have children / severe learning disabilities) contact council's Housing Service 396396 and possibly Council 426868 and the Adult Social Care helpdesk 426868. If not vulnerable contact P3 505425/1. If refugee / asylum-seeker contact GARAS 550528.
- If medical emergency contact Alex / Bleddwyn / the medical centre next to the bandstand.
- Contacting other agencies isn't enough: make sure everything is done to make people safe. Afterwards, fill in the Incident report form, tell chair of trustees, debrief. If severe accident contact RIDDOR 0845 300 9923. / What to do if there's trouble:
- Talk to another church leader/volunteer. Do NOT contact outside agencies (e.g. police) without consulting a church leader.
- If they are drunk/high/aggressive phone police 101 / 999. Shut down service if necessary.
- If they have severe mental health issues which are making them a threat, phone police 101/999 and/or Crisis Mental Health team 894240.
- If they are at risk from others e.g. homeless/vulnerable: If under 18, phone council 426565 or NightStop 331330 or police 101. If they are over 18, phone StreetLink 0300 5000 914. If they are vulnerable (have children / severe learning disabilities) contact council's Housing Service 396396 and possibly Council 426868 and the Adult Social Care helpdesk 426868. If not vulnerable contact P3 505425/1. If refugee / asylum-seeker contact GARAS 550528.
- If medical emergency contact Alex / Bleddwyn / the medical centre next to the bandstand.
- Contacting other agencies isn't enough: make sure everything is done to make people safe. Afterwards, fill in the Incident report form, tell chair of trustees, debrief. If severe accident contact RIDDOR 0845 300 9923.

Incident Report Form for recording Reportable Events – Gloucester Outdoor Church

(A copy of this report always to be always kept with the first aid kit)

Incident Number (leave blank if you don't know): …......

Name of person making record……………………………………………………..

Date and place of event …………………………………………………………………......

Names of congregant involved in event

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Nature of event/occurrence

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Any statutory agency informed & name of contact and their response

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Any other individuals involved

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Decision made…………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Trustee notified and their response……………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Further safeguarding events were to be logged under these headings:

Names of all people involved, date, time, place:

What happened:

Any statutory agency informed & name of contact and their response:

What we decided to do as a result of this:

Which trustee notified and when and their response:

Overall: is there anything we need to change to improve our response to safeguarding issues?