HLTAHCS011 Provide support to clients experiencing alcohol and other drugs problems

Release: 1

HLTAHCS011 Provide support to clients experiencing alcohol and other drugs problems

Modification History

Not applicable.

Application

This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to provide information and primary support to clients experiencing issues with alcohol and other drugs to enable them to make informed choices about treatments and support services.

It requires the ability to assist clients to participate in the planning of their ongoing care, take self-management approaches, and to access support services. It covers the coordination of follow-up care for clients.

The unit does not cover the skills needed to provide specific alcohol and other drugs interventions or specialised services. Those skills are addressed in alcohol and other drugs units in the Community Services Training Package.

This unit is specific to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people working as health workers or health practitioners. They work as part of a multidisciplinary primary health care team to provide primary support to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients but this unit does not provide skills for counselling clients.

The skills in this unit must be applied in accordance with Commonwealth and State or Territory legislation, Australian standards and industry codes of practice.

No regulatory requirement for certification, occupational or business licensing is linked to this unit at the time of publication. For information about practitioner registration and accredited courses of study, contact the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia (ATSIHPBA).

Pre-requisite Unit

Nil

Competency Field

Health Care and Support

Unit Sector

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health

Elements and Performance Criteria

ELEMENTS	PERFORMANCE CRITERIA
Elements describe the essential outcomes	Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element.
1. Assist clients with self-management approaches for alcohol and other drugs issues.	1.1. Provide information about impacts of substance misuse and treatment options relevant to specific substances in plain language using culturally appropriate and safe communication. 1.2. Explain to client their role in managing their care and elements of self-management. 1.3. Assist client to express their needs and preferences and encourage their own choices for treatments and care. 1.4. Assist clients to actively participate in the ongoing development of multidisciplinary care plans.
2. Provide resources and information about alcohol and other drugs issues.	2.1. Provide culturally appropriate consumer based education resources about substance misuse and its treatment to clients and their families. 2.2. Inform clients about drug and alcohol support services available in the community, state or territory. 2.3. Facilitate access to support services according to client needs and preferences.
3. Provide ongoing support.	3.1. Communicate consistently in culturally appropriate and safe ways with client, using plain language. 3.2. Assist clients with information about available therapeutic services and how these can be accessed. 3.3. Facilitate referrals for clients according to multidisciplinary clinical partnerships. 3.4. Discuss barriers faced by client in accessing care and support services and recommend resolutions. 3.5. Identify and promote the use of client’s own support networks. 3.6. Explain to client importance of regular reassessments in managing their care.
4. Complete documentation and provide follow-up support.	4.1. Update client records to include details of services, information and referrals provided to client, according to organisational procedures. 4.2. Plan and provide continuity of support in consultation with client and multidisciplinary team. 4.3. Organise follow-up support for clients using organisational client information systems and follow up procedures.

Foundation Skills

Foundation skills essential to performance in this unit, but not explicit in the performance criteria are listed here, along with a brief context statement.
SKILLS	DESCRIPTION
Reading skills to:	interpret detailed and sometimes unfamiliar client records, involving medical terminology and abbreviations interpret detailed and sometimes unfamiliar plain language consumer based education resources.
Writing skills to:	use fundamental sentence structure, health terminology and abbreviations to complete forms and reports that require factual and subjective information.
Oral communication skills to:	use language and terms sensitive to client values and emotional state ask open and closed probe questions and actively listen to determine client needs and understanding of information provided.
Learning skills to:	use information provided in credible evidence based consumer resources to update and extend knowledge of alcohol and other drugs issues, care options and available support services.
Initiative and enterprise skills to:	source information that meets the specific needs of clients and families.

Unit Mapping Information

This unit supersedes and is not equivalent to HLTAHW012 Assist with prevention and minimisation of substance abuse.

Links

Companion Volume implementation guides are found in VETNet - https://vetnet.gov.au/Pages/TrainingDocs.aspx?q=ced1390f-48d9-4ab0-bd50-b015e5485705