Macgregor Primary School Out of School Hours Care

 

Management of Incident, Injury and Trauma

POLICY STATEMENT.

Our Service aims to ensure the safety and wellbeing of Educators, children and visitors, within the Service and on excursions, through proper care and attention in the event of an incident, injury or trauma. The Service will make every attempt to ensure sound management of the event to prevent any worsening of the situation and to complete reports on each event that will be signed by the parent of the child involved. Parents or emergency contacts will be informed immediately where the incident, injury or trauma is deemed serious (see Regulation 12) and all serious incidents will be reported to the relevant authorities including the Children’s Education and Care Assurance.

CONSIDERATIONS.

·         National Regulation 85 “Incident, Injury and illness policies and procedures”

·         National Regulation 87 “Incident, Injury, trauma and illness record”

·         Work, Health and Safety Act 2011

·         National Standard 2: Element 2.1.4 “Steps are taken to control the spread of infectious diseases and to manage injuries and illness in accordance with recognised guidelines.

·         Service Policy “Management of Basic First Aid”

·         Service Policy “Administration of Medication”

·         Service Policy “Hygiene”

·         ACECQA “Frequently Asked Questions” www.acecqa.gov.au

·         National Regulation 12 - the Education and Care Services National Regulation defines the ‘meaning of serious incident’ for reporting to the Regulatory Authority. National Regulation 86 “Notification to parents of incident, injury, trauma and illness” 

PROCEDURE.

Parents are required to provide written consent for Educators to seek medical attention for their child, if required, before they start in the Service. This will be recorded on the enrolment form.

Parents will be required to supply the contact number of their preferred doctor or dentist, Medicare number and expiry date.

Educators will be required to supply two contact numbers in case of an emergency or accident, involving themselves.

If a child, Educator or visitor has an accident while at the Service, they will be attended to immediately by an Educator who holds a first aid certificate.

In the case of medication being required in an emergency without prior consent of the parents/guardians, Educators are to secure verbal consent from parents/guardians over the phone or gain consent from a medical practitioner.

Anyone injured will be kept under adult supervision until they recover and an authorised person takes charge of them.

In the case of a major incident at the Service requiring more than basic first aid, the first aid attendant will:

·         Assess the injury and decide whether the injured person needs to be attended by a local doctor or whether an ambulance should be called and tell the Educator in charge or Nominated Supervisor of their decision.

·         get immediate medical attention if the injury is serious. Parents or emergency contacts will be notified straight away. If not possible, there will be no delay in organising proper medical treatment. Another Educator will keep trying to contact the parents or emergency contacts in the meantime if available.

·         Attend to the injured person and apply first aid as required.

·         ensure that disposable gloves are used with any contact with blood or bodily fluids as per the hygiene policy.

·         stay with child until suitable help arrives, or further treatment taken.

·         try to make the child comfortable and reassure them that they will be ok and their parents/caregivers will be on their way.

·         will accompany the child and take the child’s medical records with them if an ambulance is called and the child is taken to hospital.

·         complete a Service accident report and a report for the Regulatory Authority.

The other responsible Educator will:

·         notify parents or emergency contact person immediately regarding what happened and the action that is being taken including clear directions of where the child is being taken (e.g. hospital). Every effort must be made not to panic the parents and to provide minimal detail regarding the extent of the injuries

·         ensure that all blood or bodily fluids are cleaned up in a safe manner.

·         ensure that anyone who has come in contact with any blood or fluids washes their hands in warm soapy water.

·         try to reassure the other children and keep them calm, keeping them informed about what is happening, and away from the injured child.

Accidents which result in serious injury (including death) to a child must be reported to:

·         An ambulance service

·         The police

·         Parents/Guardian

·         Regulatory Authority

The Service will notify the parent/guardian that a serious incident has happened and advise them to contact the relevant medical agency. Only a qualified medical practitioner can declare a person dead and therefore Educators should ensure the parents are only advised that the injury is serious and refer them to the medical agency (i.e. hospital) where the child has been taken.

This information should be provided in a calm and extremely sensitive manner.

The site of the accident will not be cleared or any blood or fluids cleaned up until after approval from the Police.All other children will be removed away from the scene and if necessary parents contacted for early collection of children. The children should be reassured and notified only that a serious incident has occurred.

Death or Serious Injury to a child or Educator out of hours

Educators in the Service must be prepared to handle all incidents in a professional and sensitive manner. In the event of tragic circumstances such as the death of a child or Educator, the Educators will follow guidelines as set out below to minimise trauma to the remaining Educators and children in the Service.

In the event of the death occurring out of Service hours, a clear emergency procedure will be maintained for the other children at the Service.

 If a child is the deceased, the Nominated Supervisor will make contact with the child’s school to liaise with them regarding the school’s response to the event.

The Nominated Supervisor will also make contact with Children’s Education and Care Assurance to seek advice on an appropriate response from the Service. The school and Network of Community Activities should be contacted to seek additional support, resources or advice. 

Reporting of Serious Incident, Injury and Trauma

All serious incidents, injury or trauma will be recorded within 24 hours of the event occurring. The child’s parent or emergency contact will be notified of any accident or injury that has occurred to the child as soon as possible and no later than 24 hours after the event.

The Nominated Supervisor is responsible for ensuring that in the event of a serious incident the Regulatory Authority is advised, as well as the approved provider (e.g. Management Committee).

The form for notifying the Regulatory Authority of a serious incident is to be found on the ACECQA website:

http://acecqa.gov.au/storage/SI01_NotificationOfSeriousIncident.pdf

It may not be until sometime after the incident that it becomes apparent that an incident was serious. If that occurs, the Nominated Supervisor will notify the Regulatory Authority within 24 hours of becoming aware that the incident was serious.

How to decide if an injury, trauma or illness is a ‘serious incident’?

If the advice of a medical practitioner was sought or the child attended hospital in connection with the injury, trauma or illness, the incident is a ‘serious one’ and the Regulatory Authority will be notified.

An injury, trauma or illness will be regarded by the Service as a ‘serious incident’ if more than basic first aid was needed to manage the injury, trauma or illness and medical attention was sought for the child, or should have been sought, including attendance at hospital or medical facility for further treatment.