Critical Incident, Accident and Injury Policy
| Policy name | Critical Incident, Accident & Injury Policy |
| Policy number | HRP011 |
| Date approved | 24 April 2024 |
| Approving body | Cairnmillar Council |
| Responsible officer | Chief Executive Officer |
| Implementation officer | General Manager |
| Next review date | April 2029 |
| Related policies |
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| Related forms and documents |
1. Context
The Cairnmillar Institute (the Institute) is a private, multi-faceted, community-based provider of mental health services. The organisation is an independent, Not-For-Profit Company and a Health Promotion Charity. Cairnmillar provides psychological treatment services, higher education psychology and counselling training, and short courses.
Our counselling and psychology students are required to attend placements in workplaces across Australia. Further, our clinicians also see clients (on site or off-site) and sometimes out of hours. At times, our students and staff may be exposed to adverse or unforeseen events and consequently, they may require appropriate support and guidance.
2. Purpose of this Policy
The Institute’s Council recognises its moral and legal responsibility to provide a safe and healthy work environment for all employees, students, contractors, clients and visitors. The Council’s commitment to OH&S extends to ensuring the Institute’s activities will not place the community at risk of injury, illness or property damage.
The Institute must make every endeavour to provide a safe work environment for the health, safety and welfare of our employees, contractors, visitors and members of the public who may be affected by our work. The Institute acknowledges that a response to any critical incident will vary depending on the circumstances of the incident.
3. Scope
This policy applies to all Cairnmillar employees, students, volunteers, contractors and visitors, and regardless of whether, at the time of the critical incident, the student or staff is involved or engaged in Institute related activity
4. Definitions and Acronyms
A critical incident can be defined as any event that has a stressful impact sufficient enough to overwhelm the usually effective coping skills of an individual. Critical incidents are abrupt, powerful events that fall outside the range of ordinary human experiences. Any incident has the potential to start as or escalate into a critical incident. Incident types include, but are not limited to:
- Crisis events such as fire, explosion, chemical spill, gas leak, pandemic, natural disaster, international critical incident, power outage, violent attack, fatality or serious injury.
- Issues or events (internal or external) which may develop into crisis situations, such as health or mental health concerns, fraud or mismanagement.
- Adverse cybersecurity event and/or significant data breach.
- Activities that may attract adverse attention from government, regulators, interest groups, the public or media.
5. Policy
Recording keeping and reporting
The line manager of the work area will be responsible for leading and managing the response to a student or staff critical incident. This includes the completion of an Incident, Injuries and Hazard Form, creating and maintaining a detailed record of the incident and subsequent actions, and filing the record in accordance with the Institute’s Privacy Procedure and Records Management Procedure.
The line manager responsible for managing the incident will also brief the Chair of the OH&S Committee and the Chief Executive Officer on the incident and the intended response. Where there has been a serious injury or fatality, or there is a critical and current risk (legal, reputational or safety), the Chief Executive Officer will contact the Chair of the Cairnmillar Council as soon as possible to report what has occurred.
Supporting staff and students indirectly affected
Both Human Resources and Student Services will work together to identify any staff or students who may be indirectly emotionally affected or traumatised as a consequence of a critical incident. They will be responsible for ensuring relevant support is offered and available and will be available for effective communication with these staff and students.
Off-shore student critical incidents
Major world events, such as civil unrest, natural disasters and acts of terrorism occurring in countries where the Institute has strategic partners or from which the Institute draws students or where staff or students are travelling on Institute business, will be managed as above. As soon as practicable, and following notifying local emergency responders, students should contact the Dean of the Faculty and their Course Coordinator, advising them of the situation.
On-shore incidents - on- and off-campus
a. On-campus student critical incidents
All on-campus critical incidents are to be reported immediately to the OH&S Committee Chair and Chief Executive Officer (0409 562 311) and when necessary, emergency services (police, ambulance - dial 000) should be contacted.
Any incident resulting in severe injury (hospital visit) or death of a student while on campus must be reported to the OH&S Committee Chair immediately. The same reporting requirement applies where an incident could have potentially caused severe injury (hospital visit) or death. The Institute response to these severe incidents will be overseen by the OH&S Committee Chair. Human Resources (for staff) and Student Services (for students) will oversee the response to other (non-severe) incidents.
b. Off-campus student and staff critical incidents
Off-campus critical incidents where the student or staff member is not engaged in a Cairnmillar activity are to be reported to Student Services (for students) or Human Resources (for staff) who will notify the OH&S Committee Chair. Student Services will oversee the Institute response to such incidents for students and Human Resources will oversee the Institute response to such incidents for staff.
Off-campus critical incidents involving students engaged in Cairnmillar-arranged activities such as
field trips, work placements, or work integrated learning will be managed by the relevant Faculty
Course team in consultation with and with the support of Student Services. Incidents involving off-campus Institute staff engaged in Cairnmillar activities will be managed by the relevant Manager in consultation with the OH&S Committee Chair.