Communication

Deanne York Douglas
Deanne York Douglas
Last updated 
How we communicate with each other, our clients, their family members, and other allied health professionals.

Statement
To succeed in our mission to deliver the highest level of care to our clients, we need to constantly communicate with clients and their families, carers, support workers, our managers, healthcare professionals and many others in the community. 

This policy guides us on how to communicate effectively and efficiently.

Our communication(s) is to meet client needs and goals professionally and respectfully in that complies with all relevant company policies and procedures. Communication with external providers should be through a CCM or a representative of HWH management. 
 
Background
  • We are committed to the practice of regular shift reporting during our shifts.
  • We gain the client's consent and involvement in all aspects of service delivery and the direction of their services to maintain their ability and build or maintain independent capacity. 
  • We work, plan, and collaborate with multiple stakeholders during the various stages of introducing, developing and establishing a successful plan for clients with high, complex care needs.
  • We assist in transitioning clients from hospital to home to achieve maximum outcomes in health and well-being. This is done by working closely with other healthcare providers, allied health professionals, stakeholders, clients, and their families. 
  • We use effective communication practices with a therapist in delivering therapy routines and exercises provided by the support worker for a client at home to support the client's goals.
  • It is further acknowledged that dignity of risk is an integral part of the client's choice and control. 
Scope
The communication methods the company employees use include (but not limited to); Basecamp, Talent LMS, client care/support discussion and consents, service agreements and other company forms, face-to-face meetings, phone calls, online meetings, emails, incident and hazard reports, and handwritten notes. 

Communication Principles
Ensure your communication practices are:
  • Appropriate - too much vs too little information
  • Timely - follow company and legal policies
  • Factual – provide only facts; opinions are not required (let the healthcare specialists do this)
  • Truthful – your communications do not contain favourable or unfavourable bias
  • Respectful – verbal and written communication is respectful in its tone
Desired Outcomes
  1. To maintain a quality and safe standard of service delivery for the client.
  2. To reduce confusion about the roles and responsibilities of the client's team members and allied health professionals in delivering care and service provision to the client. 
  3. Improve effective communications between HWH employees, clients, family members, stakeholders, and allied healthcare professionals.
  4. To ensure all parties involved in delivering care and services to clients in their homes should recognise and respect each other's roles and work together to provide a coordinated approach for the client's benefit.

When using Basecamp:
 Helpful hints for communicating with each other at work:
  1. DO remember that sending private pings to co-workers is a huge privilege. 
  2. REMEMBER not to constantly comment on other Carer's Shift Notes when you are off shift. The occasional encouraging comment is fine!
  3. DO give people a chance to respond and DON'T send multiple individual pings with the same request; it is better to make a group ping with people involved.
  4. DO contact us anytime you have an issue or want to report inappropriate co-worker contact. We take this very seriously and will handle it discreetly.
Extra tips - Keep it; 
  • Professional: many of our client's families have Basecamp access.
  • Respectful; no one person has the perfect approach.
  • Positive: focus on what is going well with the client.
  • Kind; everyone is doing their best 
  • Encouraging; we all need that!
  • Timely: our managers expect to see client shift notes when you commence, leave and throughout your shift. Posting a shift note stating you have "arrived for your shift" is a good idea. Several shorter shift notes are the most efficient way to record what is happening during your shift. 
Definitions
Communication is the exchange of information, thoughts, and feelings among people using speech or other means; in our clients' lives, many practitioners provide services who bring specialist skills to support the client's needs.
The list below describes 'who's who and what they do' in community services:
  • Client - the service user, participant, user, care recipient, consumer or person receiving the nursing or support services. 
  • Service Provider - HWH as an organisation or an employee that is accountable for the delivery of supports to clients or any other company and their staff that provide services to our client. 
  • Service Agreement - is a document developed in response to a request for service. 
  • Client/Clinical Care Manager (CCM) - a person responsible for planning, coordination, overseeing, referral and liaison regarding services and support for the needs of an aged client, or services and support for a client with disabilities. 
  • Local Area Coordinator - (LAC) a person who is very familiar with NDIS and is able to guide and support a client to create their own NDIS plan, they can arrange implementation of the plan and change the plan to meet the client's needs.
  • Plan - a Service Plan, Support Plan or Individual Plan (however titled – the plan). It is developed before service delivery, usually by the CCM, a Registered Nurse or a person deemed competent by HWH. The plan outlines the expected outcomes of the requested care/services and the tasks, duties and interventions required to meet the client's care and service needs (within the funding program's parameters). The plan guides and directs the individual support worker, CCM, or Registered Nurse in their day-to-day delivery of the services. 
  • Support Worker - A paid person who assists people in performing tasks of daily living to participate in social, family and community activities in the person's home and their community. 
  • Primary Carer - a person that provides supports to the client at no cost (generally a family member or friend). 
  • Guardian - could be a family member or friend; they are a substitute decision maker who may make lifestyle decisions, such as where a person should live, and generally give their consent to medical, dental and health care services.
  • General Practitioner GP - a doctor, based in the community who treats patients with acute, minor or chronic illnesses and refers those with serious conditions to a hospital or a specialist. They provide preventative and healthcare education to patients of all ages.
  • Pharmacist - A health professional who has special training in preparing and dispensing (giving out) prescription drugs. Pharmacists have been taught how drugs work, how to use them, and their side effects.
  • Registered Nurse - a person who works for HWH and has completed the prescribed educational preparation, demonstrated competence for practice and is registered and licensed with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) as a Registered Nurse. 
  • Community Registered Nurse - a person who works for a community nursing service and has completed the prescribed educational preparation, demonstrated competence for practice and is registered and licensed with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) as a Registered Nurse. 
  • Allied Health Professionals and therapists who assess and may provide therapies: 
    • Occupational therapists can arrange modifications that will minimise hazards, reduce the risk of falls and slips, create a safe environment that allows older people and people with disabilities to be as independent as possible, and assist with manual handling. 
    • Optometrists and orthoptists: provide services for low vision. Podiatrists: provide services for the foot and care of foot wounds. 
    • Physiotherapists: can manage pain, shortness of breath and frailty and maximise physical well-being, including those living with dementia. They prescribe exercise and assistive technology and can assist with musculoskeletal issues.
    • Exercise physiologists and occupational therapists can provide fall prevention programs to develop mobility, strength, and balance.
    • Osteopaths and chiropractors can assist with musculoskeletal issues. 
    • Dietitians: work as part of a multi-disciplinary team to meet the individual's dietary needs, and work with food service teams to assess and improve the menu and mealtime environment. 
    • Speech pathologists: provide services to assess and manage communication and mealtime support needs (including swallowing difficulties), support and training of supports in the communication and mealtime environments. 
    • Psychologists: provide psychological, neuropsychological and behavioural assessment and treatment services for mental ill-health. 
    • Social workers: conduct psycho-social assessments, coordinate supports and provide services. 
    • Music therapists can work with seniors and their carers to manage depression, anxiety and behavioural and psychological symptoms. 
Guidelines for communicating with allied health professionals and therapists
The therapist's role is to provide the client with protocols and plans that detail therapy routines to be continued in the home with the support of family members and support worker/s. A hospital or private health service may employ therapists who have experience with the client and are willing to communicate with us. 

We endeavour to communicate and coordinate with therapists to ensure the support worker/s are trained and competent in delivering therapy routines. We clarify expectations about recording and feedback processes that benefit and do not compromise the quantity and quality of services for the client. 

The following points should be considered in developing and maintaining a therapy plan from appropriate allied health professionals. Knowing the client well will be important and appropriate for HWH to provide relevant input to new goals or a plan established by other professionals. Cooperation and collaboration between services produce the client's best results and positive outcomes.

In the pursuit of quality services for our clients from allied healthcare professionals, we require the following assurances:
  • Are appropriately credentialed
  • Work within the scope of their service provision role
  • Maintain their appropriate insurance and checks
  • Are aligned with our service provider policies - client-centred practices
  • Communicate effectively and on time with other key stakeholders and us
  • Liaise as appropriate with our CCM/DSM on the development of reports
  • Provide accurate and timely information to ensure the care plan is current and regularly reviewed to reflect the client's needs.
  • May be required to participate in the training of our support workers and to ensure that this occurs on time
 Related Legislation
  • Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) 
  • Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth)  
  • Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) 
  • Age Discrimination Act 2004 (Cth)  
  • Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth)   
  • Children's Protection Act 1993
  • Health and Community Complaints Commissioner (HCSCC) - Code of Conduct for Unregistered Health Practitioners.
  • National Disability Insurance Scheme (Code of Conduct) Rules 2018, rule changes in 2021
  • National Standards for Disability Services
  • Privacy Act 1988 (Cth)
  • Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Act, No. 12, 2017 (Cth) 
  • Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 
Related Policies & Procedures
Source
Wikipedia - GP
Australian Community Industry Alliance (ACIA) External ACIA Guidelines 002 – Care and Service Provision in the Community

Disclaimer
This guideline is provided to help guide best practices in the disability, aged care and community support industry. This information does not replace legislative, regulatory, or contractual requirements. Users of this document should seek appropriate expert advice about their circumstances. ACIA does not accept any liability for the use of this guideline.