These NDIS Practice Standards set out the environment in which supports are to provided to participants.
Safe environment
Outcome: Each participant accesses supports in a safe environment that is appropriate to their needs.
To achieve this outcome, the following indicators should be demonstrated:
- Each participant can easily identify workers who provide supports to them.
- Work is undertaken with each participant, and others, in settings where supports are provided (including their home), to ensure a safe support delivery environment for them.
- Where relevant, work is undertaken with other providers (including health care and allied health providers and providers of other services) to identify and manage risks to participants and to correctly interpret their needs and preferences.
- For each participant requiring support with communication, clear arrangements are in place to assist workers who support them to understand their communication needs and the manner in which they express emerging health concerns.
- To avoid delays in treatments for participants:
a) protocols are in place for each participant about how to respond to medical emergencies for them; and
b) each worker providing support to them is trained to respond to such emergencies (including how to distinguish between urgent and non-urgent health situations). - Systems for escalation are established for each participant in urgent health situations.
- Infection prevention and control standard precautions are implemented throughout all settings in which supports are provided to participants.
- Routine environmental cleaning is conducted of settings in which supports are provided to participants (other than in their homes), particularly of frequently-touched surfaces.
- Each worker is trained, and has refresher training, in infection prevention and control standard precautions including hand hygiene practices, respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette.
- Each worker who provides supports directly to participants is trained, and has refresher training, in the use of PPE.
- PPE is available to each worker, and each participant, who requires it.
Participant money and property
Outcome: Participant money and property is secure and each participant uses their own money and property as they determine.
To achieve this outcome, the following indicators should be demonstrated:
- Where the provider has access to a participant’s money or other property, processes to ensure that it is managed, protected and accounted for are developed, applied, reviewed and communicated. Participants’ money or other property is only used with the consent of the participant and for the purposes intended by the participant.
- If required, each participant is supported to access and spend their own money as the participant determines.
- Participants are not given financial advice or information other than that which would reasonably be required under the participant’s plan.
Management of medication
Outcome: Each participant requiring medication is confident their provider administers, stores and monitors the effects of their medication and works to prevent errors or incidents.
To achieve this outcome, the following indicators should be demonstrated:
- Records clearly identify the medication and dosage required by each participant, including all information required to correctly identify the participant and to safely administer the medication.
- All workers responsible for administering medication understand the effects and side-effects of the medication and the steps to take in the event of an incident involving medication.
- All medications are stored safely and securely, can be easily identified and differentiated, and are only accessed by appropriately trained workers.
Mealtime management
Outcome: Each participant requiring mealtime management receives meals that are nutritious, and of a texture that is appropriate to their individual needs, and appropriately planned, and prepared in an environment and manner that meets their individual needs and preferences, and delivered in a way that is appropriate to their individual needs and ensures that the meals are enjoyable.
To achieve this outcome, the following indicators should be demonstrated:
- Providers identify each participant requiring mealtime management.
- Each participant requiring mealtime management has their individual mealtime management needs assessed by appropriately qualified health practitioners, including by practitioners:
a) undertaking comprehensive assessments of their nutrition and swallowing; and
b) assessing their seating and positioning requirements for eating and drinking; and
c) providing mealtime management plans which outline their mealtime management needs, including for swallowing, eating and drinking; and
d) reviewing assessments and plans annually or in accordance with the professional advice of the participant’s practitioner, or more frequently if needs change or difficulty is observed. - With their consent, each participant requiring mealtime management is involved in the assessment and development of their mealtime management plans.
- Each worker responsible for providing mealtime management to participants understands the mealtime management needs of those participants and the steps to take if safety incidents occur during meals, such as coughing or choking on food or fluids.
- Each worker responsible for providing mealtime management to participants is trained in preparing and providing safe meals with participants that would reasonably be expected to be enjoyable and proactively managing emerging and chronic health risks related to mealtime difficulties, including how to seek help to manage such risks.
- Mealtime management plans for participants are available where mealtime management is provided to them and are easily accessible to workers providing mealtime management to them.
- Effective planning is in place to develop menus with each participant requiring mealtime management to support them to:
a) be provided with nutritious meals that would reasonably be expected to be enjoyable, reflecting their preferences, their informed choice and any recommendations by an appropriately qualified health practitioner that are reflected in their mealtime management plan; and
b) if they have chronic health risks (such as swallowing difficulties, diabetes, anaphylaxis, food allergies, obesity or being underweight) – proactively manage those risks. - Procedures are in place for workers to prepare and provide texture-modified foods and fluids in accordance with mealtime management plans for participants and to check that meals for participants are of the correct texture, as identified in the plans.
- Meals that may be provided to participants requiring mealtime management are stored safely and in accordance with health standards, can be easily identified as meals to be provided to particular participants and can be differentiated from meals not to be provided to particular participants.
Management of waste
Outcome: Each participant, each worker, and any other person in the home is protected from harm as a result of exposure to waste, infectious or hazardous substances generated during the delivery of supports.
To achieve this outcome, the following indicators should be demonstrated:
- Policies, procedures and practices are in place for the safe and appropriate storage, handling and disposal of waste and infectious or hazardous substances (including used PPE), and each policy, procedure and practice complies with current legislation and local health district requirements.
- All incidents involving infectious material, body substances or hazardous substances are reported, recorded, investigated and reviewed.
- An emergency plan is in place to respond to clinical waste or hazardous substance management issues and/or accidents. Where the plan is implemented, its effectiveness is evaluated, and revisions are made if required.
- Each worker involved in the management of waste, or infectious or hazardous substances, is trained in the safe and appropriate handling of the waste or substances, including the use of PPE or any other clothing required when handling the waste or substances.
Other sections of the Core module
- Rights and responsibility for participants
- Provider governance and operational management
- Provision of supports