NDIS Plan Management Through Participant Journey Mapping

NDIS Plan Management Through Participant Journey Mapping

Contact with regular support and plan reviews is a different journey for each participant. To deliver the best outcomes, providers need to be aware of how NDIS plan management will work. This guide covers an introduction to journey mapping, which will help you to plan goals, workers and services without all the confusion and record-keeping.

Understanding the NDIS Participant Journey

All the participant's story is a participant journey. It starts with enquiry and intake, then plan and deliver the service and concludes with a review of the changing needs. However, this story is still not stored in a centralised repository, with many providers opting to store this in individual notes/emails, etc.

If it changes during a worker or coordinator's shift, it's easy to miss important information. This may result in rephrasing of the question and a "restart" of a Participant, as well as losing the preference point.

One Clear Picture

Each of the journey mapping stages is shown in one view. Staff have the opportunity to discern what has happened, is happening and will happen. This is beneficial for new employees, too. If a coordinator joins the activity in the middle, then he/she can read the map and have an overview of the participant without having to do overhand and repeat questions.

NDIS Plan Management Across Support Stages

Each of the support stages has its own set of tasks which need to be owned by someone. Teams make a list of their needs and desires when they are taken in. They check for services and hours in the plan. They are responsible for rostering and recording the workers who come to deliver.

Continued progress is monitored at each step. If these stages are linked up, there is nothing in between that is lost. If a change is made at one position, it is carried on to the next position in the roster and/or records.

Fewer Gaps Between Stages

Most issues are likely to be identified at handover areas, such as when a child is being taken in or when a child is being delivered. They will each have a map, with one's identity shown for each step and the knowledge that not all steps are completed.

A simple layout, emphasising the travel at a glance. Each stage can be expanded upon with additional detail, as necessary for the teams.

Identifying Individual Care Requirements

Engaging in good support is all about listening. Individuals have their own routines, language, culture and safety requirements. This information helps to inform who to provide support for them and how. The care needs should be recorded and be clearly written and up to date.

So there are workers with a lot of information, and the participant doesn't have to tell them his/her story on every visit. Families and Carers welcome additional detail! They have an awareness of daily routines, triggers and what is effective, and this awareness will improve the quality of support.

Respect and Privacy

Confidential and personal information is shared by all the participants. Access should only be provided to those who require access, as per Australian privacy law and the Provider's policies. The items that are documented and why they are documented should also be known by employees. There are clear rules - build trust with participants, families and staff.

Safety First

Any potential hazards, including allergies, mobility requirements and medication assistance, should be clearly stated. From then on, the workers will be prepared for the visit, and managers will verify that they have trained workers.

Mapping Participant Goals to Services

Purpose is provided by goals, which support its purpose. A participant may wish to acquire life skills, gain more involvement in the community or be more independent in his or her home environment. For each goal that you accomplish, you must have a clear service that is related to the goal. Services are linked to objectives, and so provision is targeted at the desired objective.

All are familiar with the reasons for the visit, and managers can ascertain whether or not the hours are the same as the participant would like to achieve. Goals can also be broken down into steps. There may be a step bigger than shopping, meal planning and basic safety, which are steps to a greater goal – cooking on their own.

Visits can be followed by progress towards each step being recorded. Rewards given for showing progress in the support area can be small and used to support that area can also motivate participants.

Choice and Control

There should be a participatory approach to the provision of services. Teams can have their preferences and ensure that they are honoured at all times.

A member of a group can alter a service; this can be documented and shared with the team right away.

WMS for Support Worker Allocation

A WMS consolidates rosters, timesheets, worker records and worker credentials! Spreadsheets, messages and paper forms are no longer required to be used as a framework to coordinate a week of support. A workforce management system also indicates those who are available, those who are qualified and those who have worked long hours already.

This accelerates the allocation process and helps to ensure equity in allocation. A worker is placed on the sick list: a coordinator can see good workers to replace him/her in minutes. The participant is notified as early as possible, and the visit will not be missed. The availability, leave and hours worked are in the same view. This will prevent unnecessary time-consuming and tedious rotation and double booking.

Built on Construction Experience

WorkforceMS started in the construction sector, and crews travel from site to site, and every shift requires a record. This background is ideal for disability support teams, who also have to work inter-agency and across locations, and require reliable documentation.

Simply because there's reduced paperwork created with clear records. The time spent on timesheet corrections is reduced, and supervisors have more time to support workers and participants.

NDIS Plan Management and Service Progress

Progress is a measure of whether or not support is effective. It also assists participants in visualising the progress they have made. The teams can monitor the number of visits made, the number of hours spent with the participant and the notes on the participant's progress in relation to their goals.

Managers are made aware of problems at an early stage when records are updated after each shift. There is an opportunity to raise a concern before it impacts on a participant if it is missed, there has been a change in hours or if it is repeated.

Notes That Matter

Shift notes should be concise, factual and courteous. They should explain what happened, the response of the participant and any information the next performer should have. It is also beneficial for good notes to be provided during audits. When there is a question, a record will be created, which will include the person(s) supporting the participant, the time and the length of time.

Additionally, this clear documentation can aid in fair and respectful conversation of enhancements and achievements. In addition, hours worked are also transferred to timesheets with a WMS. This helps to ensure that everyone is accurately paid and to ensure a clear service record for each participant.

To help you remember, here are a few tips:

• Map Participants' Journey From intake to review.
• Make all goals have a specific service.
• Document the wishes and needs for care in a single location.
• Make notes and hours daily after each shift.
• Check in on progress and changes regularly.

Matching Workers to Participant Needs

The perfect fit provides more safety and comfort. It also enables visitors to feel known from the get-go. A worker's skills, qualifications and experience, as well as language and personal fit, are all important when selecting a worker. A good system will look at these and match them against all the participants' needs and display appropriate workers that are available.

The search is still done at the discretion of the coordinators, but is much faster. The time to get to work is also a concern. Having a worker who lives close by can get to work on time more often, and spend less time on the road during the shift.

Steady Relationships

Repeat Players develop faith. Small teams will have a smoother run, and changes in wellbeing will be easier to detect when the same small team is supporting a participant. A change of worker is indicated and documented with a handover note to assist the new worker to get a good start, and the participant's comfort level is maintained.

Record and follow an expiry date for screening, training and credentials of workers. The requirements are different for each state and service, so please always check with the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.

Reviewing Changes in Support Requirements

The needs of individuals vary throughout their lives. This may lead to new skills being acquired, new challenges or a change in life stage for a participant. They need to have their support modified. Health, housing, family and work changes are all potential sources of change. The teams should make note of the change, verify its meaning (with hours) and make roster changes promptly.

Maps for journeys facilitate reviews. A day's worth of notes, hours and goals will be available for teams to review and identify what went well. Roster changes and changes in assignments of the workers can then be made.

It also ensures a level head when plans change, since it's probably obvious who's in charge. It is important to include the participant(s) and families in this discussion. Their comments reveal those aspects that are helpful and those that need to be modified.

Learning From the Data

Hours used, missed hours, and worker changes report patterns. It is important that managers use these facts to enhance planning and that a dialogue is engaged with the participants and the families.

If hours are frequently not used, it could be because the schedule is not the right one for the participant. The roster can be modified if one service is called for more frequently. This will enable providers to plan rather than respond to issues and provide greater support to participants and families.

Conclusion

Effective support involves clear objectives, the appropriate staff and accurate documentation. Having a journey diagram that shows all of the different steps in the process makes NDIS plan management more straightforward. Request a demo from WorkforceMS and discover the value of connected rosters to keep support on track.