Quality Strategy Toolkit
for Australian Disability Enterprises
and Disability Employment Services
Home » Quality Strategy Toolkit » Part 5: Contacts and resources » Disability Services OHS project - NDS NSW
The resources provided in the following section are linked to Section 3: Standard 8: 8f: Occupational health and safety (OH&S) overall considerations.
These resources have been included in the Toolkit with the permission of National Disability Services - NSW.
Documents:
Working at External Locations encompasses two areas, working in the homes of clients and working in public places. The information in this fact sheet should be read in conjunction with Manual Handling and Violence Fact Sheets found on this website.
Disability service workers often confront additional risks when working in public places and in client's homes, as these environments are less predictable than centre-based environments.
Working in a client's home is a common and significant part of many services provided by workers in the disability industry. The homes of clients are workplaces for those providing support. Consequently, organisations and workers have workplace safety obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 NSW (OHS Act) and Occupational Health and Safety Regulation 2001 (the Regulation). Unlike centre-based service settings, a client's home is not directly controlled by the employer. Even so, many simple practices can be implemented to ensure the safety of workers.
Thorough client and home assessments will assist in the identification of risks and minimise the likelihood of injury for workers
Many services conduct off-site checks either over the phone or at their headquarters before an initial home visit. Before commencing services important issues need to be considered such as access to the premises, whether the service user lives alone, and if there are any pets. It is important to ensure all relevant information about the environment in which the service will be conducted has been obtained. It is good organisational practice to ensure the responsibility for this environmental (or home) assessment rests at a supervisory or managerial level.
Assessments of service users' homes should be done formally and documented using a consistent checklist preferably by more than one staff member. Community Services Safety Pack WorkCover Section 3
Assessment
Although the responsibility for assessment would lie with management, the worker or workers most likely to be providing support should participate in the initial home visit and assist with the home assessment. Workers can anticipate safety issues and identify issues they believe pose the greatest risk.
A home assessment is a risk assessment to identify health and safety risks found in the physical aspects of the home in addition to the individual client assessment. Community Services Safety Pack WorkCover Section 3, Hunter Region Supported Accommodation Respite Day Programs Workplace Inspection DADHC
When working in a client's home injuries may result from:
(You may hear this referred to as to Risk Identification)
| Outside Home/Inside Home: | Other areas (this assesses and considers other important aspects of supporting clients in their own homes): |
|---|---|
|
|
Once the assessment has identified the hazards and assessed risks in the client's home, the next step is to eliminate or reduce those risks. Hazards should not be seen as barriers to clients receiving services. Often ingenuity and lateral thinking by all concerned is required. Solutions do not always have to be expensive and elaborate. If the likelihood of injury is high, or the risk could cause a severe injury, eliminating or controlling the hazard should be a high priority.
Frequently, simple solutions can be found to control hazards identified in a home assessment. The assessment may identify a number of electrical appliances with frayed power cords. Negotiations about service delivery could include the client replacing or repairing damaged appliances which are required in providing support. It is important to explain safety issues and the need for repair or replacement of damaged appliances to the prospective client. Some organisations provide appliances for workers to use in the course of their work.
In situations where home modifications might be needed involving a significant cost to the home owner practical short term solutions need to be considered if a client or the client's carer initially refuses these modifications. In these circumstances, management needs to negotiate with the client and carer and discuss possible consequences of not performing the modifications required.
Many organisations provide their workers with a portable residual current device (RCD) when working with electrical appliances. This type of practice should never replace the need for workers to visually check all electrical equipment for faults such as frayed cords or scorched plugs. If any fault is identified the equipment should not be used and the issue addressed by a supervisor and the client.
Remember
Thorough client and home assessments will assist in the identification of risks and minimise the likelihood of injury to workers
When providing support in an individual's home, irrespective of the disability or support option, there are a number of key points that can be considered as tips for working in the clients' home. Community Services Safety Pack WorkCover Section 3
These steps can become a part of your daily routine, even with clients you know. If at anytime a client's circumstances change you should discuss the changes with a supervisor or manager to have another risk assessment completed. You also need to be aware of your organisation's policies and procedures regarding high risk clients
Working in the community is a regular and significant feature of disability service work. Working with clients in the community, irrespective of disability type, has inherent challenges. When supporting clients to participate in community activities, there is only limited control over the external environment and there is an additional variable of interacting with members of the public. These challenges are heightened when supporting clients with complex or high behavioural support needs.
One of the issues for workers in the disability industry is the genuine desire to assist clients integrate and participate in community activities like everybody else.
Any location that is used regularly in service delivery should be formally assessed with some type of documented checklist and preferably by more than one staff member for suitability for your client group. Community Services Safety Pack WorkCover Section 3
A location assessment is conducted to identify health and safety risks associated with particular venues in which people with a disability are supported in the community. These assessments are conducted in addition to individual client assessments.
Once the location assessment has identified the hazards and assessed the risks the next step is to eliminate or reduce those risks. Hazards should not be seen as barriers to clients receiving services. Often ingenuity and lateral thinking by all concerned is required. Solutions do not always have to be expensive and elaborate. If the likelihood of injury is high, or the risk could cause a severe injury, eliminating or controlling the hazard should be a high priority.
A thorough location assessment will assist in the identification of risks and minimise the likelihood of injury for workers.
Remember, you may arrive at a location you use regularly to find there has been be a substantial change to the location. Flexibility and understanding the basics of risk assessment are the keys to such unexpected dilemmas and may not mean an activity needs to be cancelled.
There are many variations when working in the community; you may be supporting clients on a one-to-one basis or in group activities. Working in the community also includes transportation of clients to venues which adds new considerations regarding safety.
Transport: - how are clients travelling to the venue? Are clients being transported by disability service worker? Are they travelling independently using private or public transport?
What is the focus of the activity? Is it predominantly social with a community participation objective or is it a training component of a client's individual plan? Transport may be required to support clients attend workplaces, medical or dentist appointments or to go shopping.
Variables may include noise or crowds due to school holidays or the time-of-day in which activities take place. Climatic conditions may affect individual client's capacity to manage in the environment.
These and similar issues need to be considered in relation to a client's management plan or behaviour support plan, to identify potential triggers and alternate actions if required. Workers regularly identify risks associated with tasks which form part of formal learning activities. Most are familiar with the need to analyse and assess tasks to assist the client to acquire skills and move towards independence. The risk identification processes used in formal training processes can be adapted to social activities for clients. This is particularly so when working with clients with an intellectual disability.
While community locations are varied, a number of simple practices can be implemented to ensure the safety of workers. These practices are the same irrespective of the location. The key is to include risk assessment processes as part of everyday practice.
When providing support to a client or group of clients irrespective of the disability or support option, there are a number of key points that can be considered as tips for working in the community. Community Services Safety Pack Checklists WorkCover Section 3
These steps can become a part of your daily routine, even with clients you know and venues used frequently. If at anytime a client's circumstances change you should discuss the changes with a supervisor or manager to have another risk assessment completed. You also need to be aware of your organisation's policies and procedures regarding high risk clients.
Under the OHS Act and the Regulation employers must ensure the health, safety and welfare of employees when working at external locations. The Regulation requires employers to identify workplace hazards, assess the risks arising from those hazards, implement risk control measures, provide training and consult with employees.
Working at external locations has significant OHS risks due to the unpredictability of locations. Occupational Health Safety legislation requires employers to take all practical steps to eliminate workplace risks as far as possible.
Organisations have a responsibility to manage working at external locations in a systematic way by identifying hazards, assessing or quantifying risks and applying risk control strategies.
Risk management need not be costly. Many simple and inexpensive measures can greatly reduce risks. You need to consider the potential exposure of your organisation if you do not manage risks in relation to workers at external locations.
A proactive and consultative approach can create a safer workplace for staff and clients. Document evidence of how, what, when and by whom actions are required to achieve positive outcomes.
Note: This material has been prepared using the best information available. You should always check current legislation in relation to your own circumstances and what action you may need to take to ensure you have complied with the law.
Hazard: A source or a situation with a potential for harm in terms of human injury or ill-health, damage to property, damage to the environment, or a combination of these.
Hazard Identification: The process of recognising that a hazard exists and defining its characteristics.
Risk: The likelihood and consequence of a potential injury or harm occurring.
Risk Assessment: The overall process of estimating the magnitude of risk and deciding what actions will be taken.
Risk Control: The part of risk management that involves implementing policies, standards, procedures and physical changes to eliminate or minimise risks.
Risk Management Process: The systematic application of management policies, procedures and practices to the tasks of establishing the context, identifying, assessing, controlling, monitoring and communicating risk.
RCD: Residual Current Device.
Critical Incident Response: A critical incident response plan identifies the formal steps to take during & after an incident when violence or aggression occurs.
Hierarchy of Controls: Six ways to deal with hazards or control the risks to health and safety.