Have you ever considered how your customers might be affected in an emergency and have they thought about what they want to do?
Late last year highlighted natures force when Cyclone Jasper hit the QLD coast. It wasn’t its wind that caused the most damage but the buckets of water it chucked down, causing large scale isolation due to flooding, widespread power outages and road closures. The town of Mossman and surrounds were shut off for weeks from the rest of QLD.
In every state there have been bushfire emergencies at least once a year and living within these often-hazardous conditions are some of your customers.
The NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission encourage providers to look at emergency management within your organisation and encourage capacity building of your customers to have contingency plans in place.
It can be simple measures such as knowing who to call if a bushfire is threatening, or how to prepare a more elaborate escape plan, having a backup generator in case of prolonged power outages or in a bushfire zone: including a box filled with copies of important documents, water and medications near their front door that can be scooped up with them and any pets and taken to safety.
In some instances, your staff may be with the customer during an emergency exodus. Their preparation and ability to remain calm can significantly impact the outcome. By ensuring they know what to do, you enhance overall safety and security for everyone involved.
Emergencies come in all forms, not just the fury of nature. So think about if your customer is out with their support staff and they have a fall or they may become extremely anxious. How do you act in these situations and more importantly how does the customer want you to deal with them.
An Emergency Preparedness Document is a good step forward in assisting your customers to think about how prepared they are and if there is more they can do or how they would like a situation to be handled.
In our example above, Peter lives in a high bushfire zone suburb of Perth and he and his family have a plan in place. But what has also been captured is how Peter would like issues dealt with that come up when he is with his support worker or accessing the community.
A meeting took place with the coordinator, support staff and Peter to mitigate risk and discuss how he wants things managed. The information is clear and can always be changed as circumstance alter. Ideally, you would revisit this document every twelve months with someone like Peter, who has already thought out his emergency plans. With a customer that is new to this, you would update more often.
You can imagine the importance of this document for a customer who lives alone and lacks extensive informal support. By introducing strategies for preparing for unexpected circumstances, you empower them to manage situations they may not have previously considered.
Reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated lockdowns; not long ago, we faced a global crisis that required us to weigh up the well-being of vulnerable customers living alone.
As service providers, it's our responsibility to help ensure the safety of our customers and assisting to equip them for any unforeseen challenges.
The links below are handy and informative.
We wish you well, as always.
The Lama Care Team
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