CHCCN511A: Establish, manage and monitor the implementation of a safe and healthy environment
Coordinate the response to accidents and emergencies
Contents
Develop, maintain and practise evacuation procedures with all workers and children 4
Reducing the likelihood of fire 4
Developing an evacuation plan 5
Review steps already taken by workers and implement additional actions required 8
Reviewing the actions of the team 8
Seek medical assistance as required 9
When to call an ambulance 9
When to notify parents 9
Coordinating the response to the unwell child 10
Implement a plan to meet the emotional needs of children and others in the situation 11
Supporting the child emotionally 11
Support emotional needs of children and others 12
The role of policy and procedure 12
Allocate tasks to different people and give directions about how to proceed 14
Allocating tasks 14
Coordinating the response 15
Sensitively and calmly provide accurate information to parents 17
Recognising parents’ emotions 17
How to inform parents 18
When parents arrive to pick up their child 19
Use policies and procedures of the organisation to inform people of actions required of them 20
What are policies? 20
In light of the incident, review service’s policies and procedures with others and change as required 22
Reviewing policies as a team 22
Develop, maintain and practise evacuation procedures with all workers and children
We will look at strategies to control the risk of a fire emergency in the childcare service before we look at the importance of developing a thorough evacuation plan.
Reducing the likelihood of fire
One of the best ways to prevent an emergency situation is of course to prevent it from occurring. Part of our good planning for an emergency event will involve taking steps to reduce the likelihood of fire occurring in the service.
We can make sure the following takes place:
• Dispose of rubbish in the service quickly and appropriately.
• Install smoke detectors and regularly test them.
• Check power cords and electrical equipment regularly.
• Store flammable chemicals safely and appropriately.
• Keep the service free of combustible materials, ie wood, paper, etc.
• Regularly check the heating system for safety—and, if faulty, get it serviced straight away.
Being fire-ready
It is equally as important to prepare your service for emergency situations. You can do this by following these guidelines:
• Have a clear evacuation plan for each room and display it in a prominent position.
• Ensure that all staff have received training in using fire extinguishers, fire blankets and so on.
• Ensure all staff are aware of the correct first aid treatment for burns.
• Ensure that appropriate emergency contact phone numbers are displayed near the phone.
• Ensure that fire fighting equipment (fire blankets and extinguishers) is checked regularly.
• Ensure the first aid kit is stocked and accessible to all staff.
• Have regular discussions and reviews of emergency procedures.
Developing an evacuation plan
You will probably be familiar with the steps that need to be followed in the event of an emergency evacuation. Any emergency evacuation procedure you develop will be based on the RACE procedure.
RACE procedure
Do you know what RACE stands for? The RACE procedure involves the following steps:
• Remove children and adults from immediate danger.
• Raise the alarm. Let all staff know about the danger and ring the fire brigade to let them know about the fire.
• Contain the fire if safe to do so, ie close doors and windows in the service. Without a supply of oxygen the fire will not be able to continue to burn.
• Evacuate the building to a place of safety. This will be a known assembly point and will be a safe distance from the childcare service.
Instructions can also include:
Remember, unless you are confident to fight the fire with a fire blanket or fire extinguisher and have received training to use these fire-fighting devices safely then it is recommended that you concentrate on moving everyone to a point of safety.
Once you have reached the assembly point it is important to check that all children have been removed safely and that families and the Department of Family and Community services in your State or Territory are notified of the emergency situation. The team leader will also liaise with the Fire and Rescue Service when they arrive to tell them what is known about the fire, ie where is it, if anyone missing and to provide any other information required.
These steps will all be happening in the space of a very short time. Each staff member will have responsibilities to fulfil that will see all children and staff in the childcare service moved to a point of safety quickly and smoothly.
The emergency response plan should identify who is coordinating the evacuation, who is coordinating first aid, who will check attendance records for the day, who will check individual rooms or areas in the service for children and staff and, finally, who will call the families.
Evacuating children to safety
We mentioned before that the aim of the evacuation plan is to be as smooth and quick as possible. Of course you know when young children are involved that this will require much planning. You will have to ensure that you have practised your fire drills frequently with the children to reduce the likely panic and alarm.
You will have developed with the team some fun but organised ways to move the children to safety. It would be helpful to get the children to hold onto a rope, or each other’s waists to make a line, and sing a song that encourages them to be actively involved in the evacuation process.
Below is an example of a song that children can sing as they make their way to safety, holding on to each other’s waists.
Here we go, here we go, here we go!
Little boats one by one, one by one!
Across the deep blue sea...
We’ll sail to a safe safe place
With a whoop and a whoop and a ho!
With a whoop whoop ho, off we go!
We’ll sail to a safe, safe place
Across the deep blue sea!
Some services make up songs that will help children move quickly to safety. You might want to make one up yourself. You might also want to read about one service’s Wiggly Worm evacuation technique in the following textbook:
Caton S and Roche D (1999) Managing the Risks in Children’s Services: An integrated approach to managing risk for children and staff, Lady Gowrie, Australia.
Activity 1
Practising evacuations
The Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011 specifies that fire drills should be carried out at least once every three months. Fire drills can be regular and planned or spontaneous. It is important that any drill is carried out in a realistic way. Sending out a memo that a fire drill will be held on a certain day at a certain time may help staff in the room to be ready for the evacuation drill but will not simulate the stress of an unexpected incident.
How will staff know what it is like to wake sleeping infants and put them into the fire cot, move hungry toddlers away from the lunch table or get a group of active preschoolers to stop what they are doing and move into their single-file formation unless drills are carried out during play times, during meal times or during sleep routines. A fire will not wait until all children are fed, awake, happy or ready.
After the emergency evacuation
Evacuation procedures also need to be reviewed regularly.
Children, staff and environments change over time. Because of these changes we need to ensure our evacuation procedures change too and that they are regularly practised and reviewed with staff and children.
We need to talk about the drill with all staff and check:
• Did staff know what to do?
• Do staff know how to train new staff on evacuation procedures?
• Did everyone leave the building quickly and smoothly?
• Was assistance required in the evacuation of younger children?
• Were any of the children frightened?
• How did the staff manage this fear?
• Do staff know what the legal requirements are for evacuations?
• Do staff have any ideas for the improvement of the evacuation process?
Activity 2
Review steps already taken by workers and implement additional actions required
It is important to thoroughly review the evacuation response to assist with future planning. It is important to complete this review after any emergency situation, ie after a child has been injured or become ill.
Reviewing the actions of the team
We may not always be in the service at the time of an emergency situation to lead the emergency response. However, we will always have the important role of ensuring that everything that could have been done was done.
We need to know answers to the following:
• Were our service procedures followed?
• Did staff have the knowledge and skills to act swiftly and appropriately?
• Were staff able to communicate clearly with others in relation to the incident?
• Were all necessary actions taken?
• Is any follow up required? For example, does any equipment need repair? Do we need to speak with parents about future action plans?
Activity 3
Seek medical assistance as required
In most cases, staff in the childcare service will be able to provide appropriate first aid when accident or injury occurs.
However, there will be instances when we need to be able to determine if other professional medical treatment should be sought. Depending on the situation, we may contact the child’s parents first before we take action. In other situations, we will call for an ambulance or make arrangements to get a child to hospital first and then contact the parents.
When to call an ambulance
We would always call an ambulance when:
• the child has an anaphylactic reaction. Note: After injecting a child with an EpiPen, you will still need to call the ambulance. Keep the injector to show the hospital.
• the child has difficulty breathing
• the child looks particularly unwell and you are worried
• the child loses consciousness
• the child has a seizure
• the child breaks a limb or suffers a burn or any injury that leads to symptoms of shock.
When to notify parents
Parents would be notified to come and take their child to a medical practitioner when a child:
• has a fever of 38º Celsius
• has increasing asthma
• is not drinking water or other fluids and has diarrhoea or vomiting
• has a rash as well as a fever.
When a child is mildly unwell, parents should be notified and asked to pick up their child as soon as is possible.
Coordinating the response to the unwell child
There is much to consider when medical assistance is required.
What information will the medical staff need?
The child’s personal file must be taken to the hospital. Information to be included in this file would include the child’s date of birth, full name, known allergies, contact telephone numbers, language spoken at home, etc.
The staff member accompanying the child will need to ensure that this is given to the appropriate medical staff and that any questions they have are answered thoroughly.
How do we get the child the medical assistance they need?
• Will you call an ambulance?
• How far is it to the nearest hospital?
• Who will travel with the child to the hospital?
How do we ensure the smooth running of the service?
• When a member of staff accompanies the child to hospital, how do we ensure there won’t be disruptions to the service?
• Who will be best placed to comfort and support the child until the parents arrive?
These decisions will be your responsibility as team leader of the service. If you have worked carefully through the development of service policies and procedures before an emergency situation, your response will be that much easier. Clear steps and actions will have already been identified and all you have to do is follow them.
You will also need to ensure that your staff are familiar with service procedures and that they are able to follow them easily.
Your immediate concern will be of course ensuring the health and wellbeing of the injured or unwell child, supporting the needs of the child’s parents and supporting the emotional needs of the other children in the service.
Implement a plan to meet the emotional needs of children and others in the situation
Just as each individual adult will react differently to an emergency situation, so too will the responses of the children in our services vary tremendously. Some children may be afraid, some may cry, some may go into shock, some may not be overly interested as they are occupied elsewhere.