Scope 

All staff and contracted workers

Purpose 

  • Providers of community program services play an important role in supporting people who live in the community. They are in regular contact with many Clients who could potentially be at risk. Taking appropriate and timely action when a Client does not respond to a scheduled visit may reduce the risk of an adverse event, or result in earlier discovery of a mishap.  

 

  • In recognition of the vulnerability of Clients receiving community program services, procedures need to be established to ensure a Client’s safety is a priority. While a Client’s privacy is to be respected at all times there can be many reasons why a scheduled visit is missed. These include:     
    1. The Client may have inadvertently forgotten to inform the service provider that he/she would not be at home; and/or 
    2. The Client may have fallen, been injured or taken ill and still be in the home; and/or 
    3. The Client may have been admitted to hospital 

 

  • It is acknowledged that deaths will occur in the community program setting, even when providing required levels of care. Community program services cannot prevent deaths from occurring or change the environment in which they take place.  

Definitions     

  • Scheduled visit or service – a situation where a home-visit to provide a service has been prearranged. This could include services such as nursing care, allied health or support for Client/carer. 

 

  • Family Carer – Unpaid relatives or friends who provide regular and ongoing care and support to the Client.  

 

  • Short term Client: Client who receives up to three face to face interactions from a service provider 

 

  • Long term Client: all other Clients 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Service provider: encompasses all carers who provide services to Clients in the home environment. 

Policy 

  • When a Client does not respond to a scheduled visit, a planned course of action must be taken by the visiting worker. Long term Clients may choose to have an individualised planned response for when they do not respond to a scheduled visit.  A copy must be made available to the Client and documented in the Client: 
    1. notes or  
    2. support plan or     
    3. service agreement  

 

  • In the event that a Client does not want any response, this must be documented. 
  • For short term Clients the planned course of action is outlined in the Procedure.
  • If the service provider perceives the environment is unsafe they must immediately withdraw from the environment and contact their line manager. 

 

Procedure 

For short and long term Clients the service provider must complete the following steps:  

  • Ensure Client details and address are correct  
  • Ensure all Clients have up to date emergency contact details. For long term Clients this will be done at 6 monthly intervals.  
  • Ensure the Client has contacted the emergency contacts and they know they have been nominated as a contact  

 

Short term Clients 

The service provider must complete the following steps: 

  • Response process includes: 
  • Phone the residence 
  • Check for signs of activity such as voices, lights, television/radio 
  • Note unusual circumstances such as signs of disturbance, distressed pets, uncollected mail 

 

  • If it is determined that the Client is at home and unable to answer the door:  
  • Contact the emergency contact   
  • Notify the line manager of the situation 
  • Notify the police 

 

  • If after all checks it is perceived that the Client is not at home, the service provider will notify their line manager that service was unable to be delivered and then complete their service delivery to other Clients. For Clients with a case manager or other person managing their care, that person will be notified of the missed visit within 30 minutes. The Client will be contacted within the next 24 hours to arrange another appointment. 

 

  • Document in the Client notes. 

 

Long term Clients  

The service provider must complete the following steps: 

  • A planned response will be developed with each Client, taking into consideration individual circumstances. The response will be developed at the time of assessment.     

 

  • Where plans are not available for existing Clients they will be progressively developed and documented at service reviews or re-assessment.  

 

  • The plan will be developed in collaboration between the clinician or case manager who is the direct contact for the Client, and the Client or their representative and should contain:  
  • The person responsible for activating the plan and the response process which will include: 
  • Phone the residence 
  • Check for signs of activity such as voices, lights, 

 

television/radio 

  • Note unusual circumstances such as signs of disturbance, distressed pets, uncollected mail 
  • A strategy for cancellation of visits if the Client is not going to be home for the prearranged visit  

 

  • Indicate what to do if the Client is at home but unable to answer the door. In this event emergency services must be called and the carer must immediately notify InPlace Care.  

 

  • Indicate what to do if the Client is not home as determined by the Client.  
  • A copy must be made available to the Client and documented in the Client notes and support plan or service agreement.  
  • Where possible and appropriate, the formulation of a joint response plan among multiple service providers is encouraged and considered best practice.     
  • If the Client declines an individualized plan this should be respected and documented. However, when there are concerns about the Client’s absence or safety these issues must be reported to InPlace Care Clinical Services Manager or delegate.     
  • All incidents or near miss pertaining to a Client will be reported in VHIMS as per the BH Client/Client Incident and Adverse Event Protocol   

References and 

Associated 

Documents 

State and Commonwealth Legislation,  Standards / Codes of 

Practice / Industry Guidelines 

The Guide for Community Care Service Providers on how to respond when a community care Client does not respond to a scheduled visit, Department of Health, September 2009  

 

DVA Procedure Manual for the Provision of Community Nursing Services from July 2014 and as amended from time to time