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Newsletter : June 2008
Lynn
Health and Safety Workplace Assessment
On the 3rd of June the Department of Labour undertook a workplace assessment of Peacehaven to look at how we manage the safety of our residents and staff.
The Inspector was very impressed with the hoist and sling system that we have in many rooms. This allows staff to easily shift residents who have mobility issues in and out of beds, wheelchairs, showers and bath at the press of a button on the hoist. The Inspector returned to Peacehaven to photograph the hoist being operated so that she could put it in her report about the Auckland area, as “best practice” and present it as an example for others to follow.
The only item we had to tidy up on was maintaining a list of chemicals used on the site.
Fee Increase
Healthcare Providers of NZ (HCPNZ) has asked providers (e.g. Peacehaven) to advise all residents and their families that there will be an increase in the subsidy and maximum contribution rate as from 1 July. The increase could be up to 3.5% and the final figure will be decided in negotiations between HCPNZ and the District Health Boards (DHB’s). It will be back-dated until 1st of July as negotiations have not been finalized yet.
This is an annual review of funding which occurs each year effective from I July. Basically it is the mechanism the DHB’s use to set the subsidised funding. Private paying residents will also have a percentage increase. If you need more information please ring Alan at Peacehaven.
Risk Management
Risk Management must be carried out by management at all times and at Peacehaven some of the techniques we employ are:
Ann and Alan provide a strong leadership model that sets high standards, not simply lip service but on the floor practical support. Our senior management team of Ann, Alan, Olwyn and Frances have some 68 years of elder care experience between them. We encourage team work between all shifts. A detailed handover takes place at the end of each shift to discuss daily issues.
Ongoing training of all staff both on the job and off the job takes place. Staff attend such courses as “Managing Difficult Behaviours” so our understanding is enhanced and we can develop strategies to cope.
Many of our staff are undertaking the ACE training programme, a nationally recognized qualification in Elder Care. Having a stable, mature staff who have been with us for years (one person 9 years and many more for over 5 years) is a great support for our residents.
Our rule of thumb is that staff must treat all residents the way they would like their own mother to be treated. This ensures that respect and good care takes place at all times.
Fire Safety
In our residential environment we must be sure that our fire prevention is state of the art. Our system is designed to detect problems early.
Each room has a smoke detector which reacts to chemical particles that may be smoke. Unfortunately sometimes steam or dust may set a smoke detect off so we have had the occasional false alarm which provides the opportunity for practicing our emergency procedures.
On the 19th of June 2008 we had such an emergency when the alarm sounded and our notice board indicated a sprinkler had been activated. In 10 years we have never had a sprinkler activated (it is the smoke alarms that are the early warning system) so we went straight to a full evacuation. Within four minutes all residents had been assembled in the front reception area.
The firemen assumed full responsibility but could not find the activated sprinkler, and as there was no fire, it was declared as a false alarm. When the technician was resetting the system it was discovered that Metro water had let the water pressure drop so low that our system detected a fault and triggered a call to the fire brigade.
It is comforting to know that the system works.
Each room has a sprinkler which explodes into a jet stream of water if it gets hot, and the Fire Brigade is automatically altered. The sprinkler system is designed to douse the fire immediately. If sprinkler was activated, water would spray only in that room so that the hazardous effects of high pressure water are minimized.
We do not allow smoking in our building. Our smokers are safe and comfortable in the conservatory which has a concrete floor and sand buckets for the butts.
Our fire prevention system is checked every month by a certified inspector and is surveyed annually to comply with standards for our building Warrant of Fitness. Our emergency evacuation procedure has been approved by our Fire Safety Officer.
Peacehaven staff learn a staged evacuation technique so that the residents can be safely moved away from danger in an emergency.
40 questionnaires were sent out and 20 were completed and returned to us.
A big thank you for those that returned the papers as it helps us identify where we need to improve our service to you and your family members. Basically the questions posed gave five responses for you to select from (Number 5 being positive and number 1 being negative.)
We received:
Clearly, the overall standard provided by staff and management is in line with your expectations of what and how your family expects us to provide for your loved one. However, there are some areas where we can improve and we are addressing these now.
As we have no identification on who filled out the forms, we cannot
discuss any concerns directly with you so please ring and talk to
Ann or Alan about specific issues to that we can fix them for you.
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