Reporting an Incident
Everyone at AQCare is responsible for ensuring the safety of our clients and workmates. As part of our risk management requirements, it is important to report incidents as soon as possible after they occur.
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What is an Incident?
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An incident is any unplanned event that has resulted in injury, ill health, damage or any other loss. It is san event where actual harm has occurred to a person or property.
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Some examples of incidents are:
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Error in medication assistance
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Illness or injury to a person (including self-harm)
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Allergic reaction
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Exposure to a harmful substance
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Trip or fall
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Physical threats or assault, including sexual assault
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Verbal threats, assaults, harassment and bullying
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Theft
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Neglect or exploitation
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Willful or negligent damage to property
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Fire or explosion
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Absconding
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What is a Near Miss?
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A NEAR MISS is also considered an incident. A near miss is an event that might have led to an injury or illness, danger to someone’s health, and/or damage to property or the environment.
If you are not sure if something is an incident and needs to be reported, we encourage you to contact your supervisor or manager as soon as you can to discuss it. They will be able to give you guidance.
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Why is it important to report incidents and near misses?
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We use this information in an investigation to determine if we can prevent this type of incident from occurring again. For very severe incidents, we have regulatory obligation to report them to the authorities.
When an incident or accident happens, we must have all of the following information:
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WHO was involved in the incident (injured person and any witnesses)?
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WHEN the incident happened (time and date)?
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WHERE the incident happened (location in the building and the building’s street address)?
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HOW the incident happened (a detailed description of the incident and what lead up to it)?
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WHAT injuries or damage occurred?
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WHAT action was taken in response to the incident (including if first aid administered or hospitalisation was required. Were there any other steps you took to make the person or area safer)?
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How long do I have to report an incident after it has occurred?
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All incidents must be reported to a manager within 24 hours of the incident occurring.
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Some incident are more serious than others and these are called Critical incidents. Types of critical incidents include serious injury or death, violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation, fire or explosion.
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When a Critical Incident occurs emergency services must be called immediately, then your manager must be notified as soon as is practicable. This is extremely important, as we have a regulatory obligation to report them to the authorities.
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I WOULD LIKE TO REPORT...
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