Unit of competency details

HLT07 Version 4

HLT07 Version 5

Comments

HLTHIR402C Contribute to organisational effectiveness in the health industry

HLTHIR402D Contribute to organisational effectiveness in the health industry

ISC upgrade changes to remove references to old OHS legislation and replace with references to new WHS legislation. No change to competency outcome.

Descriptor 

This unit of competency describes the skills and knowledge required to contribute to effective organisation outcomes in the health industry by practising and promoting legal and ethical work practices to protect client safety and enhance outcomes for the organisation and its clients in the broader health industry context

Application 

This unit applies to work in a range of organisations within the broad context of health service provision

Application of this unit should be contextualised to reflect specific workplace requirements and practices

Employability Skills 

This unit contains Employability Skills

Elements define the essential outcomes of a unit of competency.

The Performance Criteria specify the level of performance required to demonstrate achievement of the Element. Terms in italics are elaborated in the Range Statement.

ELEMENT 

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA 

1. Promote ethical work practice

1.1 Ensure client confidentiality is maintained in accordance with organisation policy and procedure

1.2 Promote respect for rights and responsibilities of clients in the organisation

1.3 Encourage colleagues/team members appropriately to comply with confidentiality requirements, and maintain client rights and responsibilities

1.4 Ensure all work undertaken reflects and promotes understanding of and compliance with the principles of duty of care, legal responsibilities and related organisation goals and objectives

2. Contribute to client and organisation outcomes

2.1 Ensure work undertaken reflects the role of the organisation and the range of services it provides

2.2 Ensure work undertaken reflects the nature and needs of client groups accessing the services of the organisation

2.3 Work with an awareness of how the organisation's operations are financed

2.4 Recognise the role of other relevant organisations and individuals that contribute to client outcomes

2.5 Maintain and encourage positive relationships between own organisation and other organisations and individuals that contribute to client outcomes

3. Contribute to organisational improvements

3.1 Contribute to organisational improvement strategies

3.2 Participate in organisational improvement activities and functions

3.3 Monitor own work practice to contribute to improvement of organisation practice and performance

This describes the essential skills and knowledge and their level required for this unit.

Essential knowledge:

The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively do the task outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task and manage contingencies in the context of the identified work role

This includes knowledge of:

• Awareness of organisation policies / procedures related to own work role
• Awareness of organisation's budgeting and budget monitoring processes as they relate to own work functions
• Awareness of relevant organisation or department structure and/or any associated agencies
• Awareness of sources of funding and funding mechanisms relevant to organisation in line with own work functions
• Awareness of appropriate practices to ensure efficient use of resources
• Elementary quality improvement principles and processes
• General knowledge of legal and ethical issues related to client care and client safety
• Importance and basic nature of significant organisation relationships with external industry organisations and individuals
• Workplace approach and practices aimed at maintaining sustainability, including environmental, economic, workforce and social sustainability
• Performance measures used by the organisation for measuring clinical, operational and financial performance relevant to worker's role and responsibility
• Role of the organisation and services it provides
• Service profile and catchment area of organisation
• Specific legal issues related to client care relevant to own and team roles and responsibilities, including child protection

Essential skills:

It is critical that the candidate demonstrate the ability to:

• Apply the legal and ethical issues in relation to client care, as relevant to the worker's specific role and responsibilities
• Demonstrate active involvement in improving the performance of the organisation in line with of the scope of the worker's role and responsibilities
• Demonstrate understanding of the role of the organisation, its relationship to the community and with other industry organisations and communicate this to team members and others when appropriate

In addition, the candidate must be able to effectively do the task outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task and manage contingencies in the context of the identified work role

This includes the ability to:

• Accurately communicate information to others
• Comply with legal requirements specific to worker's role and responsibilities
• Encourage other team members and promote good practice
• Identify external organisations and other industry participants of importance to the organisation
• Identify the services provided by the organisation
• Identify and promote the importance of using opportunities to address waste minimisation, environmental responsibility and sustainable practice issues
• Participate in accreditation, quality improvement, infection control, work health and safety (WHS) projects, service and process improvements, public relations, marketing, environmental surveys or customer service projects and initiatives relevant to role and responsibilities of the worker
• Use key performance indicators relevant to worker's role and responsibilities

EVIDENCE GUIDE 

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the Performance Criteria, Required Skills and Knowledge, the Range Statement and the Assessment Guidelines for this Training Package.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate this competency unit:

• The individual being assessed must provide evidence of specified essential knowledge as well as skills
• Consistency of performance should be demonstrated over a range of workplace situations

Context of and specific resources for assessment:

• This unit is most appropriately assessed in the workplace or in a simulated workplace and under the normal range of workplace conditions. Assessment may be conducted on more than one occasion to cover a variety of situations
• A diversity of assessment tasks is essential for holistic assessment
• Resources that may be required for assessment include any documents specific to the work context such as:

• organisation policies and procedures concerning client care legal issues
• strategic plan, business plan, directory of services, marketing or public relations plan, annual report as appropriate
• organisation policies and procedures concerning funding, budgeting and use of key performance indicators
• accreditation guidelines and standards
• other relevant organisation policies and procedures
• duty statements and/or job descriptions

Access and equity considerations:

• All workers in the health industry should be aware of access and equity issues in relation to their own area of work
• All workers should develop their ability to work in a culturally diverse environment
• In recognition of particular health issues facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, workers should be aware of cultural, historical and current issues impacting on health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• Assessors and trainers must take into account relevant access and equity issues, in particular relating to factors impacting on health of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients and communities

The Range Statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Add any essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts.

Issues relevant to client rights and responsibilities may include:

• Access to appropriate and equitable care
• Personal dignity
• Privacy, confidentiality and consent
• Personal safety and security
• Knowledge of the identity and professional status of individuals providing services
• Behaviour of relatives and friends
• Provision of accurate information
• Keeping appointments
• Complying with instructions
• Respect for the rights of other clients and staff

Legal issues relevant to position and role may include:

• Privacy of personal health information
• Trade Practices Act
• Consent to medical treatment
• Duty of care
• Release of medical and other clinical records
• Coroners Act
• Client autonomous right of self-determination
• Industrial relations

Catchment area and treatment population may include:

• Geographical areas
• Age groups
• Case mix type
• Service related groups

The organisation's operations may be financed by:

• State, Territory and Federal governments
• Department of Veterans' Affairs
• Medicare Plus
• Health funds
• General and workers' compensation insurers
• Church funding sources
• Donations, trusts and bequests
• Client co-payments
• Fees for services provided
• Contract payments
• Episodic, per diem or block grant funding arrangements

Important relationships with other organisations and individuals may include:

• Contracts with health funds
• Contracts with the Department of Veterans' Affairs
• Relationships between and with general practitioners and specialists
• Allied health professionals
• Contractors/suppliers of goods and services
• Community and church organisations
• Research organisations
• State, territory and federal departments of health
• Local government
• Health Insurance Commission
• Health Care Complaints Commission
• Accreditation bodies
• Divisions of general practice
• Industrial, employer and professional organisations
• Networks with other hospitals and community services
• Non-government organisations
• Church and charitable organisations
• Police
• Ambulance
• Fire Brigade
• Diagnostic services
• Environmental Protection Agencies
• Referral hospitals
• Referring organisations

Activities, functions and strategies contributing to organisational improvement may include:

Those aiming to improve the performance of the organisation in areas of finance, operations and service delivery, such as:

• Customer service initiatives
• Quality improvement projects
• Environmental surveys
• Efficiency audits
• Public relations and marketing
• WHS programs
• Team development
• Infection control measures
• Human resource and industrial relations projects
• Use of key performance indicators for efficiency and effectiveness
• Budgeting and variance analysis
• Use of clinical indicators
• Benchmarking
• Process improvements
• Relationship development with external organisations and service providers
• Involvement in facility and service accreditation