MHCC Psychological Injury Management Guide (PIMG)

Chapter 1: Introduction to Psychological Injury Management

Chapter 2: An Organisational Approach to Psychological Injury

Chapter 3: Managing Incidents and Injuries

Chapter 4: Understanding Insurance

Chapter 5: Glossary and References

3.1 Incidents

• 3.1.1: Responsibilities
• 3.1.2: Incident Reporting - Internal
• 3.1.3: Incident Notification - External
• 3.1.4: Investigation & Corrective Action
• 3.1.5: Reviewing  information about Incidents (hazards, near-misses, minor incidents  & injury / illness)
• 3.1.6: First Steps in the claims process
• 3.1.7: Links to Incident / Injury Information, Samples and Resources

 
Overview

We prevent incidents and prevent injuries …  but if an injury does occur,  we do what we can to support the injured worker and prevent further harm.

We know that a poor response to a report of injury sets the scene for a problem claim, whereas consistent, positive responses and a clear pathway for return to work provide a firm foundation for recovery.

In the Incidents section, you will find:

• an overview of incident management, including
  • an incident flow chart
  • description of internal and external reporting requirements
  • incident investigation, corrective action, and information analysis
• the first steps in the claims process
  • samples and resources associated with:
  • incident / injury notification, including a sample incident form
  • incident investigation
  • claims
  • an information pack for injured workers
  • resolving problems about workers compensation

3.1.1: Responsibilities

The employer, the employee and the insurer each have certain responsibilities in relation to injury management.

Links

• WorkCover: 
  • What an employer must do
  • What a worker must do
  • What an insurer must do
• MHCC:
  • First steps of insurers when a claim is made

Incidents - Flow Chart 

We take action to prevent harm when we are aware of a hazard or incident, and make notifications as needed.

3.1.2: Incident Reporting - Internal

What needs to be reported to the employer?

Identify and record all WHS incidents …. whether or not these cause injury or damage

• All hazards (anything that has the potential to cause ill health or injury)
• All near-misses (events that do not cause injury but have potential to do so)
• All minor incidents  (events that cause a minor injury of a first aid nature)
• All injuries (events that cause an illness or injury requiring medical attention)

How can incidents be reported to the employer?

Formal methods may include:

• verbally to the line manager
• via an Incident Form which enables reporting of incidents,hazards and near misses - or via separate forms for each
• register of injuries (see below)

Informal methods may also be considered to be a type of reporting.

• for example,  if a supervisor overhears a conversation by workers about a hazard or near miss that has not otherwise been reported, that supervisor may treat it as an informal report, and ask staff to complete the appropriate form.

Register of Injuries

The injury register must include the following:

(a) name of the injured worker
(b) the worker's address
(c) the worker's age at the time of injury
(d) the worker's occupation at the time of injury
(e) the industry in which the worker was engaged at the time of injury
(f) the nature of the injury
(g) the cause of the injury.

3.1.3: Incident Notification - External

(Drawn from WorkCover Reporting an Incident or Injury)

3.1.4: Investigation & Corrective Action

Take action to prevent further harm by:

• investigating what contributed to the incident and
• taking corrective action

We conduct thorough investigations to learn the root causes of the incident, take immediate action to minimise harm, and look for ways to improve processes to prevent similar incidents from occurring again.

Links

NDS:

• Accident investigation process

WorkCover:

• Incident/Near miss investigation form - template
• WorkCover NSW investigations - What they mean to you: Factsheet

3.1.5: Reviewing  information about Incidents (hazards, near-misses, minor incidents  & injury / illness)

What sort of information should be analysed?

Examples of incident information to be analysed may include:

• Who was involved
• What happened (or nearly happened) and Why (cause)
• Where  and when it occurred
• Equipment involved
• Corrective action
• Impact (eg hazard, near miss, minor incident).

In addition,  sick leave data, climate, and staff health status (eg via survey) may also be included in some analyses.

The analysis may reveal trends such as:

• A number of staff experiencing the same minor, emerging injury (may indicate ergonomic issues)
• Timing and/or equipment  patterns
• The same corrective action being repeated (may indicate a system/process issue)

We analyse incident information monthly and report it to the senior management meeting. We  incorporate information from analyses into the risk management system.   

3.1.6: First Steps in the claims process

3.1.7: Links to Incident / Injury Information, Samples and Resources

• Incident / Injury Notification
  • MHCC:
    • Initial Injury Notification
    • Sample Incident Form
    • Notifying the Insurer
    • Notifying WorkCover 
  • NDS:
    • Incident report form - template
    • Hazard report form  
  • WorkCover:
    • Reporting an Incident or Injury
    • Guidelines for notification
    • WHS Incident Notification: Factsheet
• Incident Investigation
  • NDS:
    • Accident investigation
  • WorkCover:
    • WorkCover NSW investigations - What they mean to you: Factsheet
    • Incident/Near miss investigation form - template
• Claims
  • MHCC:
    • First steps of insurers when a claim is made
  • NDS:
    • Claims process
  • WorkCover:
    • Making a Claim
    • Claims and benefits: Factsheet 4
• Other Resources
  • MHCC:
    • Injured Worker Information Pack     
  • WorkCover:
    • Resolving problems and disputes about workers compensation: Factsheet 5