Co-operation & Co-ordination

Co-operation & Co-ordination

One of my (financially) consuming hobbies is classic cars and I have three that I lavish my attention and lots of hard-earned cash on. April 28^th was the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs ‘Drive It’ day when enthusiasts were encouraged to use their classic cars for the day. For my local club, my wife and I organised a run out to a venue on a circuitous route for lunch and a drive in the countryside. We had to plan the route, make arrangements with the starting venue for bacon butties, another venue for lunch and a tea room for the compulsory cake stop on the return leg. We had to generate interest within the Car Club, enlist members for the run, and hardest of all, collect money to pay for the day out. The event was a great success and we were complemented on our achievement by the club members. Although it sounds pretty straight forward, there was an incredible amount of planning and organising. Inevitably, club members broke down (their cars not them personally) or became lost and it needed some considerable co-operation and co-ordination to get people where they needed to be.

Care Sector

Thinking of the Care Sector there is also a tremendous amount of co-operation and co-ordination required where different parties are involved in providing a care service. Often in supported living accommodation, one organisation will own and manage the building while another organisation provides the care service. In such situations it is vital that there is a clear understanding of the responsibilities each party has. In many cases there is a lack of any formal document that sets out responsibilities. The risk is that each party may assume that the other party is responsible, and critical maintenance or safety checks may be missed. Examples that I have witnessed of such incidents includes -

• kitchen vent canopies not being subject to deep cleaning,
• fixed hoist tracks not being subject to statutory thorough inspection, and,
• there being no schemes of control being in place for the control of legionella.

Care Fire Safety Issues – Person Centred Fire Risk Assessment

The need for clear definitions of responsibility is just as important for fire safety issues. The guidance ‘Fire Safety in Specialised Housing’ states, ‘it is important that one of the relevant duty holders under legislation takes overall responsibility for fire safety, so that no key aspects of fire safety management are overlooked’ – see attached Arinite AFS 0165 Fire Safety Responsible Person factsheet To support this, on page 234 the guidance provides a typical matrix of responsibilities that should be agreed by all parties. The guidance also advocates that person-centred fire risk assessments should be undertaken for each service user or tenant where it is recognised that their lifestyle choices (hoarding, alcohol influence, heavy smoker, etc.) or mental or physical capabilities may affect their safety from fire. The person-centred fire risk assessment should consider three principal aspects –

• the propensity for the individual to contribute to the likelihood of fire,
• the ability of the individual to respond appropriately to fire alarm signals or signs of fire, and
• the ability of the individual to escape in the event of a fire.

Dependent on the circumstances, the person-centred fire risk assessments should be undertaken by those who engage with the individual most, so usually the care provider. However, the risk assessments may need input from other concerned parties or specialists, and this is where co-operation and co-ordination is vital. Control measures from the risk assessment to reduce the level of risk from injury may need measures beyond the responsibility or capability of those undertaking the assessment, e.g. additional fire detection may be required. In these instances, there has to be the co-operation and co-ordination between all parties and acceptance of their responsibilities to ensure the safety of the individual. Similar to our classic car club objectives, co-operation and co-ordination between all parties in the provision of a care service is essential to make sure you are driving towards health and safety compliance.

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