Residential Aged Care Services Bushfire Ready Resource
Residential aged care servicesbushfire ready resourceResidential aged care services bushfire ready resource
Residential aged care servicesbushfire ready resource
Published by the Victorian Department of Health,November 2009November 2010 — Revised and reprinted Copyright State of Victoria, Department of HealthAuthorised by the State Government of Victoria, 50 Lonsdale Street, MelbourneIf you would like to receive this publication in an accessible format, please phone 1300 650 172 usingthe National Relay Service 13 36 77 if required, or email aged.care@health.vic.gov.au .This document (available in PDF format) can be downloaded from cs bushfire resource.pdf DISCLAIMERThe content of this resource is provided for information purposes only. No claim is made as to theaccuracy or authenticity of the content. The Victorian Government does not accept liability to any personsfor the information or advice (or use of such information or advice) that is provided in this resource. Theinformation in this guide is provided on the basis that all persons undertake responsibility for assessingthe relevance and accuracy of its contents.ii
PrefaceAged care providers need to understand and prepare for bushfiresPrefaceIn February 2009 Victoria experienced the most devastating bushfires in its history. As summerapproaches it is important that we are reminded that Victoria is one of the most bushfire-proneregions in the world.Preparing the health and aged care service sector for the bushfire season is a priority for the VictorianDepartment of Health. Substantial work is underway to ensure that local, state and commonwealthgovernment departments, emergency management agencies, stakeholder groups and the wholecommunity are prepared for the coming summer.To support your service’s planning and preparations we are pleased to provide this Residentialaged care services bushfire ready resource. It is one of a number of resources available to supportthe planning and preparedness of Victorian aged care homes for potential bushfires and extremehot weather events.Bushfire preparedness is important for all residential aged care services. Some services are located incommunities that have been specifically identified as being at high risk, and other areas may equally beaffected. Furthermore, if residents are required to be relocated, other residential aged care services maybe called on to assist.That is why the department has designed this resource specifically to support your service in its planningand preparations for the coming bushfire season. These arrangements are vital so your service is bestpositioned to make informed decisions in the interest of your residents, staff and business.I encourage all providers of residential aged care services to work through the important and usefulinformation outlined in this resource, when developing and reviewing your bushfire plans.Fran ThornSecretaryDepartment of Health, Victoriaiii
AcknowledgementsAged care providers need to understand and prepare for bushfiresAcknowledgementsThe Residential Aged Care Services Bushfire Ready Resource was developed by the Department ofHealth’s Aged Care Branch with considerable input from a range of residential aged care services andsector representatives.In particular, we were greatly assisted by advice from: Professor Joseph Ibrahim, Associate Director, NHMRC CRE—Patient Safety, Department of EpidemiologyPreventative Medicine, Monash University. Rhonda Nay, Professor of Interdisciplinary Aged Care, La Trobe University Patrick Ow, Risk Management Advisor, Victorian Managed Insurance Authority Theo Pykoulas, Manager Emergency Management, Maribyrnong City Council Ann Allenby, Director of Nursing, Castlemaine Health Helen Watt, Director Clinical Services, East Grampians Health Service Michelle Paschkow, Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing Jacqui Hickey, Victorian Department of Health, Gippsland regionThe department would like to thank the following aged care homes for sharing their experiences ofsuccessfully relocating residents during the February 2009 bushfires: Beechworth Health Service Residential Care Program, Beechworth Emerald Glades, Emerald Hillview Bunyip Aged Care, Bunyip Mount Alexander Hospital Nursing Home, Castlemaine Neerim District Soldiers Memorial Hospital Nursing Home, Neerim South Strzelecki House, Mirboo North Trentham Hostel and Nursing Home, Hepburn Health Service Westernport Nursing Home and Killara Hostel, Koo wee rup.iv
AcknowledgementsAged care providers need to understand and prepare for bushfiresWe would also like to acknowledge the contributions of the following sector representatives whoparticipated in a working group forum on 21 September 2009: Paul ZanattaAged and Community Care Victoria Raelene ThompsonAged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency Annabel ThorpeAged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency Eddie GibbonsBaptcare Dean VarndellCommonwealth Department of Health and Ageing Stephen WoodCommonwealth Department of Health and Ageing Upali De SilvaDe Silva Health Christine UnferdorbenDeloraine and Greenway Gardens Bev StehnKirkbrae Presbyterian Homes Terrona RamsayKoo wee rup Regional Health Service Tom HayesLatrobe Valley Village Kelli HowdenLilydale Nursing Home and Summerwood Hostel Owen Harvey-BeavisMunicipal Association of Victoria Frances Van Der WeeleTabulum and Templer Homes for the Aged Dianne MnichSomercare Matthew ChealSt Laurence Community Services Maree McCabeTLC Aged Care Janna KocherginskyVasey RSL Care.Bushfire photographs kindly provided by the Country Fire Authority.v
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ContentsAged care providers need to understand and prepare for bushfiresContentsGlossary of key termsixAbbreviationsx1. Purpose32. Key roles and responsibilities inemergency management73. Business continuity and emergencymanagement planning for residentialaged care services114. Planning and preparing for bushfires195. Residents’ care needs316. Alternative accommodation417. Transportation518. Supplies, equipment and services599. Staffing6710. Physical environment7511. Being a host service7912. Returning home and recovery85vii
ContentsAged care providers need to understand and prepare for bushfiresAppendices91Appendix1: Useful resources92(i) Business Continuity92(ii) Emergency management planning92(iii) Bushfire planning92(iv) Bushfire health and support92Appendix 2: Ambulance Victoria93(i) Guidelines for populating the evacuation template94(ii) Evacuation template95Appendix 3: Suggested contentsfor bushfire ready evacuation kitsviii101(i) What’s in your facility’s bushfire ready kit?102(ii) What’s in each individual resident’s bushfireready kits?104
Glossary of key termsAged care providers need to understand and prepare for bushfiresGlossary of key termsBushfire plan: For residential aged care services, a written plan which outlines the actions andarrangements for potential and actual bushfires, and includes consideration of the fire danger ratingsand the factors for making an informed decision to relocate residents or remain on site. Plans need to belinked with a broader community emergency management planning framework for bushfires, and shouldbe communicated to staff, residents, their representatives and other key stakeholders.Fire danger ratings: The fire danger rating predicts how a fire would behave if one started, including howdifficult it would be to put out. The higher the rating, the more dangerous the conditions. The Country FireAuthority (CFA) advises that the rating is to be used as a trigger for action and for communities to stayaware of the fire danger in their local district. CODE RED: A Code Red fire danger rating is the worst condition for a bush or grass fire. Most buildingsand homes in the community are not designed or constructed to withstand fires in these conditions. TheCFA recommends that the safest place to be on a Code Red day is away from high risk bushfire areas. Extreme: An Extreme fire danger rating is when extremely hot, dry and windy conditions are expected.Fires that take hold will be uncontrollable, unpredictable and fast moving. Buildings and homes that aresituated in well prepared surroundings, are constructed or modified to withstand a bushfire, and havethe appropriate internal and external fire protection systems and equipment, may provide safety. Other ratings: The range of fire danger ratings includes severe, very high, high and low-moderateratings for expected conditions where a fire event could occur.Planned relocation: For residential aged care services, or similar with a number of vulnerable residents,planned relocation is about making a decision in advance of Extreme and CODE RED days to relocateresidents, with the necessary resources and arrangements, to safer alternative accommodation. This isequivalent to the CFA’s recommendation for the general community that the safest option is to leave earlyon such days, and make a planned decision about when to leave, where to go, how to get there, what todo if you cannot leave, and when to return.Remain on site: For residential aged care services, remaining on site in the event of potential and actualbushfires is a planned decision where necessary resources and arrangements are in place to protect thesafety of residents, staff and others, and the facility is prepared to the highest level.Shelter in place: A planned response to an actual bushfire situation for services that have not left earlyand it is unsafe to leave — where the necessary resources and arrangements are in place for residents,staff and others to shelter within the facility from fire and radiant heat.Emergency evacuation: A formal process resulting from an actual fire event to move people fromdangerous or potentially dangerous areas to safer areas. For bushfires in Victoria, this could be a ‘prewarned’ event managed by an incident controller and provides adequate warning and time to leave to asafer place, or it could be for an ‘immediate’ evacuation event due to imminent fire risk.Neighbourhood safer place: During a bushfire, a neighbourhood safer place is a place of last resort. It isan identified building or space within the community assessed by the CFA in some towns across Victoriathat may afford some protection from radiant heat. It could be part of residential aged care servicescontingency arrangements, for a time when the Bushfire Plan cannot be implemented or has failed.However, the degree of safety afforded by the location will depend on a number of factors, including theintensity of the bushfire and cannot be considered completely safe. Travelling to a neighbourhood saferplace may also be dangerous.ix
AbbreviationsAged care providers need to understand and prepare for bushfiresAbbreviationsxAVAmbulance VictoriaBALbushfire attack levelBCMbusiness continuity managementCEOchief executive officerDH/DHSVictorian Department of Health/Department of Human ServicesDoHACommonwealth Department of Health and AgeingCFACountry Fire AuthorityEMPemergency management planningFDIfire danger indexGPgeneral practitionerMEMPMunicipal Emergency Management PlanMEMPCMunicipal Emergency Management Planning CommitteeMEROmunicipal emergency resource officerMFPPmunicipal fire prevention plansMFBMunicipal Fire BoardMOUmemorandum of understandingMRMmunicipal recovery managerNEPTnon-emergency patient transportREOCregional emergency operations centreTPPtownship protection plans
1. Purpose
PurposeAged care providers need to understand and prepare for bushfires1. PurposeAll residential aged care services need to consider the risks associated with potential bushfire threats andshould plan to manage them.The Residential aged care services bushfire ready resource has been prepared to help Victorianresidential aged care service providers put plans in place. It has been developed to complement existingrequirements of the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing for providers to deliver appropriatecare and services to residents and to actively work to provide a safe environment that minimises fire andother emergency risks.Boards, company directors and managers need to consider their responses to all bushfire situations, andmake the necessary arrangements to be fire ready.The Victorian Department of Health does not mandate relocation. It is the responsibility of Boards,company directors and management to prepare, have plans in place and make informed decisions.Decision making is best done at the local level in light of local conditions and resources.The resource focuses on a range of important considerations that can impact on your preparednessand includes some specific factors that are unique to residential aged care services. Anecdotes fromresidential aged care providers about their real life experiences during the February 2009 bushfires areincluded along with some prompts for your planning considerations.The resource will also be useful for residential aged care services that may be in a position to offertemporary care and services to residents that may need to be relocated to your facility.Residential aged care providers should use this resource in conjunction with other information availablewhen developing or reviewing plans for risks associated with potential bushfire threats.3
2. Key roles and responsibilities inemergency management
bilitiesinin emergencyemergencymanagementmanagementAged care providers need to understand and prepare for bushfires2. Key roles and responsibilities in emergency managementEmergency management planning occurs at national, state, regional and municipal levels through variousplanning committees. Response begins at the municipal level and is escalated to regional/state/nationallevels if local or state resources are insufficient.Having an understanding of the key roles and responsibilities for emergency management provides thebasis for a planned and coordinated approach to managing emergencies within the context of residentialaged care services.In September 2009, Commonwealth and State/Territory Ministers for Ageing endorsed an approach tothe respective roles of the different levels of government in working with residential aged care providers tomanage emergency events.Residential aged care servicesYour service has a responsibility under both Commonwealth and State legislation to have emergencymanagement plans in place, to exercise judgement in decision making and to take responsibility to protectthe health and safety of residents and staff. Your service’s emergency management plan should link intothe broader community emergency management planning framework.In view of this, residential aged care services should: have current emergency management plans in place that take into account local emergency planning,incorporates a comprehensive risk management approach taking an ‘all hazards’ approach, andconsiders the local environmental context ensure all resident care plans are up to date, easily accessible and consider the residents’ needs in arange of possible emergency events communicate emergency management plans to relevant stakeholders, for example, family members andrelated service providers establish and maintain links to local emergency and recovery services ensure all staff are trained in implementing the emergency management plan, including addressingindividual resident’s needs (these efforts should include visiting staff, consultants and volunteers) understand the key issues in making informed decisions about whether to leave through relocation orevacuation or staying and remaining on site during emergency events.Local governmentLocal government has a wide range of responsibilities in emergency management including: planning and preparing for emergency events undertaking risk reduction and mitigation activities supporting the community to respond and recover from emergency events.Councils coordinate the Municipal Emergency Management Plan (MEMP) committee and the MunicipalFire Prevention Committee (MFPC) bringing together the relevant control agencies and other relevantparties to develop and construct these plans.7
2. Key roles and responsibilitiesin emergency managementAged care providers need to understand and prepare for bushfiresVictorian governmentThe Victorian government is responsible for developing state emergency management responseand recovery capabilities, protecting life, property and the environment and for coordinating amulti-agency response.Under the existing state emergency management arrangements, the Department of Health (DH) isresponsible for the management of hospitals, medical services and public health. The Department ofHuman Services (DHS) is responsible for state and regional co-ordination of emergency recovery.DH/DHS emergency response will originate from the regional emergency operations centre (REOC) inthe regional office where the emergency event occurs (either rural or metropolitan). The response mayescalate to a state-led response as required dependant on the size and impact of the emergency situation.Commonwealth governmentThe role of the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) includes: assisting residential aged care providers to build their capacity to respond effectively during anemergency event including developing emergency plans monitoring the capacity of providers to care for residents during and after an emergency event supplying relevant information to providers, reminding them of their responsibilities consultation with local and state authorities, supporting the provider, if required, to access suitableemergency accommodation outside the area of threat including possible alternative places in otheraged care facilities establishing and maintaining effective communication and collaboration with state andlocal governments ensuring existing free-call numbers (such as the Aged Care Hotline or Aged Care ComplaintsInvestigation Scheme) are equipped to respond to queries from concerned parties, including residents,families and providers administering any Australian government measures to provide additional funding to assist affectedfacilities to recover from an emergency event if required.Aged care providers should consult with the DoHA’s Victorian office about bushfire planning arrangementsincluding notifying them about decisions to either relocate residents or remain on site in the event of apotential bushfire threat.To contact the DoHA Victorian office’s Emergency Advice and Response Line telephone 1800 078 709,or email emergencyvic@health.gov.au8
Aged care providers need to understand and prepare for bushfires3. Business continuity and emergency managementfor residential aged care services
3. Business continuity and emergency managementfor residential aged care servicesAged care providers need to understand and prepare for bushfires3. Business continuity and emergency management forresidential aged care servicesProtecting the health and safety of residents and staff as well business interests and assets are keyresponsibilities of governing boards, company directors, CEOs and senior managers of residential agedcare services/organisations.Business continuity and emergency management is about effectively planning and responding to potentialor actual threats and situations that put organisations and people at risk.At the most simplistic level, the term business continuity relates to the internal capacity of an organisationto ‘continue to do business’ regardless of potentially adverse events (such as power supply cut, no wateror kitchen fire). Emergency management is about responding to an external emergency event (such asbushfire, flood or heatwave). Having emergency management plans in place are part of an overall businesscontinuity approach.Business continuityFollowing a serious operational disrupt
Preventative Medicine, Monash University. Rhonda Nay, Professor of Interdisciplinary Aged Care, La Trobe University Patrick Ow, Risk Management Advisor, Victorian Managed Insurance Authority . MEMP Municipal Emergency Management Plan MEMPC Municipal Emergency Management Planning Committee MERO municipal emergency resource officer
Indirect employment in aged care 3 Contents 1. About this study 4 Defining key concepts and the study's scope 8 2. Current employment arrangements in aged care 12 The aged care workforce: an overview 12 Indirect employment in aged care 15 Regulation of indirect employment in aged care 19 3. Impacts of indirect employment in aged care 22
Buildings in Bushfire-prone Areas, to supersede AS 3959—1999. Changes to this Edition This Edition incorporates the following changes: (a) The method of determining the Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) for a site (Section 2) has been revised and now comprises six categories, namely BAL—LOW, BAL—12.5, BAL—19, BAL—29, BAL—40 and BAL—FZ.
3.1 Population ageing 14 3.2 The need for care 15 3.3 Aged care provision 16 3.4 Aged care workforce needs 17 3.5 Care quality 19 3.6 Government funding 20 4 A package of reform for high quality care 22 4.1 Reforms considered 22 4.2 Projected care recipients 26 4.3 Aged care workforce requirements 27 4.4 Education and training 30
a residential part of a hotel or motel; or a residential part of a school; or accommodation for the aged, children or people with disabilities; or a residential part of a health-care building which accommodates members of staff; or a residential part of a detention centre.
RACF LOGO RACF contact details Residential Aged Care Facility (RACF) outbreak letter to families Residential Aged Care Facility (RACF) outbreak letter to families DRAFT TEMPLATE Name Address Dear Name , I regret to inform you unfortunately there is a COVID-19 outbreak at RACF name where your family member resides.
3. Other—youths aged 16 to 18 who completed high school or a GED, youths aged 16 to 18 in 11th grade or lower, and youths aged 16 who were not considered 12th grade aged (based on criteria discussed in group 2) This issue of The CBHSQ Report focuses on the first two of these groups, which are collectively referred to as 12th grade aged youths;
for situations such as restorative care (return to independence), transition from hospital or recovery from an accident or illness. Residential aged care Personal and nursing care in aged care homes for older people unable to live independently in their own homes. This also includes
Am I my Brother’s Keeper? Sibling Spillover E ects: The Case of Developmental Disabilities and Externalizing Behavior Jason Fletcher, Nicole Hair, and Barbara Wolfe July 27, 2012 Abstract Using a sample of sibling pairs from the PSID-CDS, we examine the e ects of sibling health status on early educational outcomes. We nd that sibling developmental dis- ability and externalizing behavior are .
