Within the realm of Disability Service provision, ensuring and facilitating the well-being and safety of Participants is of paramount importance for Service Providers for a myriad of reasons. One critical element and means of enabling Service Providers to ensure that the people that they support remain healthy and safe is Incident Management. Whilst incidents can and do occur, having a compliant, effective, and fit-for-purpose Incident Management system is an absolute necessity for Service Providers, across all corners of the globe, but particularly in Australia.

While there are generic risk management solutions available, those lacking Disability-specific features and functionality fail to match the standards needed to provide Disability Service Providers with an apt and ample product to match the high-quality standards that all Providers strive to achieve across their services. In this blog, we will explore and highlight the features that Disability Service Providers, within Australia in particular, should look out for, and why, when considering implementing a digital Incident Management Solution within their organizations.

NDIS Requirements for Incident Management

Across Australia, all NDIS-registered Disability Service Providers are legally obligated to have and maintain an incident management system to record and manage records of any incidents that occur within their operations, as per the NDIS commission. Additionally, NDIS Providers are required to report any and all incidents to the NDIS itself that have occurred in connection with the support or services offered as a Provider, which are deemed to be “reportable incidents” as per the NDIS’s legislation.

Reportable Incidents and The NDIS

As set out in the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013, there are 6 recognised types of “reportable incidents” – as well as requirements regarding the timeframe in which an incident must be reported following an incident. They are as follows:

• 1. The death of a person with a disability – 24 hours
• 2. Serious injury of a person with a disability – 24 hours
• 3. Unlawful sexual or physical contact with, or assault of, a person with disability – 24 hours
• 4. Sexual misconduct committed against, or in the presence of, a person with disability, including grooming of the person for sexual activity – 24 hours
• 5. The use of a restrictive practice in relation to a person with disability if the use is not in accordance with a required state or territory authorisation and/or not in accordance with a behaviour support plan. – 5 business days
• 6. Abuse and neglect of a person with a disability – 24hrs

All Incidents can be reported directly to the NDIS through the NDIS Commission Portal, using the “My Reportable Incidents” page. The NDIS Commission’s website includes a written guide to help Service Providers to submit their incident reports, which you can access by clicking here.

How can NDIS Providers Ensure That They Implement an Effective Incident Management System?

While the practice of Risk Management, when well implemented and structured,  can help to mitigate risk and reduce the likelihood of incidents occurring, that is simply all that it can do; mitigate risk. The total elimination of risk is practically impossible, and living an overly risk-averse life is in-fact detrimental to the more outcome-focused lives that Service Providers wish to enable their participants to lead.

So, rather than hoping that incidents will never occur, Service Providers should seek to have an effective, robust Incident Management System in place to help both participants and staff in the event of an incident actually occurring.

As is often critical to ensuring a well-managed and efficient system across so many industries, having a clearly outlined and well-documented system that has been developed with the help of participants and staff, is crucial to ensuring that a Service Provider has an effective Incident Management system. It is also vital to ensure that those who will implement these measures are well-versed in them , and advised of any changes or revisions to the established system.

Incident Management and Assessment

Alongside ensuring that all members of your organisation are ready to respond to an incident that has occurred, having measures in place to try and reduce the likelihood of such incidents from occurring, in the form of a Risk Management strategy, is vital to reducing the likelihood of harm befalling the participants  that your services support. As the old saying goes, “prevention is better than cure”.

If and when an incident does occur, regardless of whatever Incident Management measures that your organisation may have put in place, it is important to assess the incident after the fact and consider doing the following:

• Gather feedback from the people living with a disability who were affected by the incident
• Look into the reasons as to why the incident occurred
• Examine whether or not the incident could have been prevented
• Assess well how well the incident was managed and resolved
• What actions there are, if any, that need to be taken to prevent the occurrence of future incidents
• Assess the impact of the incident on the person/people living with a disability that were involved
• Evaluate whether or not there were any governance and/or practice issues that may have led to the incident occuring.

More information around effective risk and incident management practices can be found here, on the NDIS’ official website.

Incident Management Systems and the Needs of the Disability Sector

As we previously mentioned above, there are more generalized Incident Management systems in terms of scope that are available and will fulfill the standards required across certain industries. However, given the pivotal importance of providing the highest level of person-centred care possible for Disability Service Providers within the disability sector, Service Providers should seek to implement an Incident Management System which has been specifically designed to cater to the unique needs of the Disability Sector. With that in mind, here are some of those features and functions which any Disability Service Provider should be on the lookout for to help them to implement only the highest quality Care and Service possible:

1. Customized Incident Reporting:

Software that is specifically designed to the needs of Disability Service Providers supply organisations with configured incident reporting forms that are specifically designed to capture relevant information, which is pertinent, and oftentimes uniquely demanded, within the Disability Service Sector.

More generic software services can lack the customisation and specification required to provide accurate reporting of incidents within the context of Disability Service Provision, leading to incomplete or inaccurate reporting, which in turn can lead to a lower quality of care being offered to participants , which is something that all Service Providers endeavor to avoid, aspiring only to provide high quality, Person-Centred Care and Support.

2. Streamlined Communication and Coordination:

Software which has been designed with the Disability  sector in mind facilitates efficient communication and coordination among staff, ensuring swift response and resolution to incidents. It allows for real-time updates, notifications, and escalations, enabling stakeholders to collaborate effectively in managing incidents.

In contrast, systems designed for a wider range of sectors may lack the specialised features needed to facilitate communication within the unique workflow and hierarchy of a Disability Service Provider organisation, resulting in inefficiencies and delays in incident resolution.

3. Integration of Care Plans and Individualised Support:

Disability Service Provider-tailored software allows for integration with individual care plans and associated support documentation, providing holistic insights into the needs and preferences of each supported patient. This level of integration enables staff members to tailor their response to incidents based on the individual’s specific support requirements.

More generic systems may lack the ability to integrate with specialised care plans and support documentation, thereby making it challenging for staff members to provide personalised and effective support during and after any incidents that occur.

4. Compliance with Regulatory Standards:

A vital aspect that must be considered of any system implemented by a  Service Provider within the Disability sector is of course that system’s compliance, or lack thereof, with the respective market’s legal and regulatory framework(s), as well as industry best practices. For Australian Service Providers, choosing an Incident Management system that matches the standards set out by the NDIS Quality and Safeguarding Framework is integral, as by choosing a software system that incorporates features and workflows that align with the necessary regulatory standards, the risk of non-compliance is greatly reduced. Generic incident management systems that are not tailored to the Disability sector will likely lack the level of compliance and adherence to sector-specific regulations required by Disability Service Providers, potentially exposing organisations to legal and reputational risks.

5. Enhanced Reporting, Analysis and trends:

Software that has been designed for use by Disability Service Providers offers robust reporting and analysis capabilities that are tailored to the unique needs of the Disability sector. Such enhanced capabilities enable organisations to generate comprehensive incident reports, track trends over time, and identify areas for improvement in service delivery, all of which help to improve the overall quality of the care and support offered by Providers. More generic solutions, whilst they may boast basic reporting functionalities, oftentimes lack the depth and specificity needed to generate meaningful insights into incidents within the context of disability service provision.

iplanit and Incident Management for Disability Service Providers

For Disability Service Providers to ensure that they are doing what they can to deliver the highest quality of care to their participants  possible, investing in an Incident Management software system that is tailored to the specific standards of the Disability sector, and the respective regulatory framework of that region, is not just a matter of preference; it’s a necessity.

Designed with the person (participant) supported at its core, iplanit is specifically designed to provide Disability Service Providers with the tools that enable them to enhance service quality, ensure regulatory compliance, and ultimately, improve the quality of care received by participants, all while prioritising the fulfillment of outcomes for the individuals, helping people to live better lives and achieve life’s potential. iplanit is fully compliant with all NDIS regulations and requirements, and has helped over 100,000 participants to live better, more independent and fulfilling lives across Australia since 2016. To learn more about iplanit and its NDIS-tailored features , click here.

Learn more about iplanit and NDIS-Compliant Incident Management

Incident Management is an area that Service Disability Providers simply cannot afford to compromise within. Doing so would lead not only to a lack of parity with regulatory and legal frameworks, but also a marked decline in the quality of care and support received by participants, which in turn would contribute to an overall lower quality of life, which is the opposite of what all people involved in Disability sector aspire to achieve.

If you would like to learn more about  iplanit’s specially designed, NDIS-compliant Incident Management functionality, you can request a demo using the form below. You can also get in touch with us via email – enquiry@aspirico.com, and make sure to follow us on LinkedIn to keep up-to-date with all things iplanit..