Accident Reporting in Residential Care (England) Policy

Policy Statement

This policy outlines the procedures when any employee, volunteer, care home resident, visitor or contractor has an accident, near miss or when a dangerous occurrence occurs on care home premises or as a result of work-related activities.

For the purposes of this policy, the following definitions apply.

An accident is an unplanned event that causes injury to persons, damage to property or a combination of both.
A near miss is an incident that could have caused an accident or injury, but in the event did not — near misses may be warning signs of problems and should be reported and recorded so that proactive action can be taken to investigate the causes and prevent a more serious accident from occurring.
Work-related activities include any activities that are related to the provision of care.

This policy covers reporting and recording procedures for managers, employees and non-employees. Suitable information and training will be given to all personnel regarding accident reporting.

{{org_field_name}} recognises that keeping records of accidents and safety incidents at work is required by law and is an important part of any health and safety risk management process. The analysis of comprehensive accident records is a valuable management tool that can be used to aid risk assessment and put in place safety actions to prevent accidents in the future.

On a larger scale, the collection of reports about serious incidents that may endanger the public is an essential role for an enforcing authority such as the HSE, local authorities and regulators.

Legal Requirements

The home complies with the requirements of the Health and Social Care Act (2014) (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 in respect of service user care, particularly 12: Safe Care and Treatment and the following regulations relating to accident management, reporting and investigation.

It is a requirement of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1979, as amended, that organisations with 10 or more employees must keep records of all workplace accidents resulting in personal injury in an appropriate accident book.
Reporting certain types of serious work-related accidents to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is a legal requirement under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR).
The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations 1977 require an employer to inform any appointed union safety representative of a notifiable accident to allow them to conduct an investigation.

The following HSE guidance will be followed:

INDG453 Reporting Accidents and Incidents at Work. A Brief Guide to the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR)
HSG245 Investigating Accidents and Incidents: A Workbook for Employers, Unions, Safety Representatives and Safety Professionals
HSIS1 (rev3) Reporting Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences in Health and Social Care.

Procedures

In {{org_field_name}}, the following policies and procedures will apply.

Emergency/Accident procedures

Incidents and accidents must be managed in an appropriate manner to contain and eliminate any danger and minimise risk — more serious accidents may require urgent remedial action and must be escalated to the duty manager in charge/senior management as required.
Immediate first-aid or emergency medical treatment should be sought and applied where there are injuries — where necessary, an ambulance should be called.
Where necessary, in the event of an emergency, the homes crisis management and business continuity procedures will be put into action by the person in charge.
Suitable training will be provided to managers and staff in dealing with accidents and emergencies — first-aiders will be nominated and trained in compliance with the homes first-aid policies.

Accident reporting

Accident book reports

• Care home staff or volunteers must report any accidents, incidents or near misses immediately after they happen or are discovered, no matter how minor they are or who they involve.
• In general, minor accidents, incidents or near misses will be recorded and reviewed as part of routine health and safety procedures — this will usually involve the accident, incident or near miss being recorded in the accident book through submission of an accident/incident form.
• The accident book should be used to record the following information:
a) date and time of the incident
b) full name and address of the person or persons affected
c) the person completing the entry (if different from above)
d) the occupation(s) of the person(s) affected
e) injuries caused and action taken
f) place where the accident or near miss occurred
g) a brief but clear description of the circumstances and sequence of events.
• In {{org_field_name}}, the accident book comprises accident/incident forms which are completed by the person involved in an accident or incident or by a witness — all forms are designed to comply with data protection law.
• Aside from informing the duty manager and making a report, staff must maintain strict confidentiality relating to the details of any accident or incident that occurs on the premises, or involves staff, volunteers, residents or visitors to {{org_field_name}}.
• Care home managers will be responsible for assisting contractors, agency staff and visitors in complying with the organisation’s health and safety/accident reporting policies and procedures while on care home premises.

RIDDOR reports

• Any serious accident or emergency incident which may require notification under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) must be immediately escalated to the duty manager/senior management.
• Incidents to be reported under the RIDDOR Regulations include:
a) accidents occurring at work that result in death or serious injury, including deaths or injuries that result from physical assaults on employees (from which they are unable to work for at least three working days after the incident)
b) certain dangerous occurrences (as defined in the RIDDOR regulations)
c) certain diseases and medical conditions
d) accidents to staff causing incapacity of more than seven days, not counting the day on which the accident happened
e) injuries to members of the public or people who are not at work if they are injured through a work-related accident and are taken from the scene of the accident to hospital for treatment to that injury.
• RIDDOR reports should be made by a senior manager using the appropriate online form on the HSE website or, in the case of a death or serious injury, by phone immediately to the HSE reporting centre on 0845 300 9923.
• If an incident results in over seven consecutive days of incapacity for work, it should be reported online under RIDDOR within 15 days.
• Copies of RIDDOR reports should be kept with the accident book.

Accident investigation

All accidents, incidents, dangerous occurrences and/or near misses occurring in the home or in connection with the work activities of the home should be investigated.
Investigations should be conducted or led by a suitably trained manager.
Investigations should be proportionate to the severity of the accident or incident, the degree of risk and the scale of harm — investigations into serious incidents should result in a formal report to the senior management.
Appropriate people should be involved in the investigation — this should include outside experts/contractors as required.
The objectives of any accident investigation should be to determine the sequence of events leading to the accident and establish any unsafe acts and/or unsafe conditions within this sequence that were direct causes of the accident.
Appropriate action should be taken by the management of the home following an accident investigation — risk assessments should be reviewed and any learning from the investigation applied in order to prevent recurrence and maximise safety in the future.
Investigations should be conducted in full collaboration with workforce representatives.
The home will provide full access and co-operation where an HSE inspector or an inspector from a relevant regulatory body pursue their own investigation.

Reviewing accident/incident records

Accident records should be regularly reviewed by the senior management of the home in order to ascertain the nature of incidents that have occurred and to identify any accident patterns or trends.
The review, which should be conducted with staff safety representatives, should be in addition to any individual investigation of the circumstances surrounding any incident.

Care Quality Commission Notifications Procedures

This service will comply with CQC requirements to notify it of any accident that has resulted in serious injury to or death of a person and in relation to its statutory duty of candour.

Training

Staff are given training in the home’s accident reporting procedures in their induction and refresher training as needed.

Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}} {{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}

Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}

Next Review Date: {{next_review_date}}

CH6. Accident Reporting in Residential Care