The Serious Incident Response Scheme – SIRS – now in place
* 28 April 2021 *
The Australian Government launched the Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) on Thursday 1 April 2021. SIRS aims to reduce injury and harm to residents and older people accessing aged care services. It will do this by expanding the range of incidents aged care providers are required to report to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC).
Beginning on 1 April this year, we are now required to identify, manage, resolve and report all serious incidents that have occurred, or are alleged or suspected to have occurred, in our aged care homes. The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission released Guidelines for aged care on the SIRS in late March.
Vasey RSL Care supports SIRS and all efforts by our government to reduce the risk and prevalence of elder abuse and neglect across the aged care sector. SIRS is aligned with our commitment to a zero tolerance of abuse and the promotion of a culture of openness and transparency, as we all work together to eradicate abuse and neglect.
The aged care sector already has compulsory reporting requirements for incidents, so this is not completely new: however, SIRS places greater requirements on aged care providers to report incidents, in particular those occurring between residents and those where one or both may have a cognitive or mental impairment. Providers are also required to have effective incident management systems in place.
What constitutes an ‘incident’?
According to the ACQSC, ‘An incident is an act, omission, event, or circumstance which has, or could have caused harm to a consumer or anyone else while providing care. All incidents, including those which are known to, alleged, or suspected to have happened, must be recorded in an incident management system and managed appropriately.’
How will the Scheme work?
We already have a system to monitor and report incidents and complaints: the introduction of SIRS means we have increased the range of incidents we report externally to the ACQSC. We will continue to be open and transparent with residents and families when an incident occurs, while respecting the privacy of impacted individuals and sensitivity of some issues.
Open Disclosure
‘Open Disclosure’ is the open discussion about an incident or complaint when something goes wrong that has harmed the resident/client. We fully support the open disclosure approach, which supports the safety and wellbeing of all residents in our aged care homes. We will support our employees to adjust their processes in line with SIRS as necessary.
Legislation that helps minimise the risk of preventable incidents recurring and improves safety for residents is important and beneficial not only to the individuals in our care, but to the aged care sector as a whole.
More Information
For more information about SIRS:
Aged Care Quality & Safety Commission website