CHCAOD001 :Mental health care Assessment

1. There are many models in AOD that seek to explain alcohol and drug use, as well as guide how organisations work with people.  Outline the models below and say how organisations apply them.

2. Outline the possible risks to workersassociated with working with people affected by alcohol and/or other drugs and the strategies (min of 2) that could be taken to remove or reduce the risk.

3. Read through the 4 scenarios and identify what the organisation and/or staff do to meet or breach their legal and ethical requirements.   (Hint – retell what the organisation is doing in accordance with the law)

Scenario A

Ally attended the Directions Centre office at 4pm to get some more information about a residential rehab program. She did not have an appointment and attended with her 2 primary school aged children.

Ally explained to the workers that she smokes cannabis every day and believes she has done everything she can to stop using drugs, except try a live-in program. Ally explained to the workers that she has always wanted to try residential but her partner, parents and her case worker (from a different Family Support Organisation) don’t think she is ready for residential treatment and don’t think she should be making her own life decisions because she is a drug user.

The Directions Team offer a short appointment to Ally and then arrange another appointment for another day because they do not have any childcare facilities available. At the next meeting they complete a full assessment with Ally. They ask about herself and her children. They believe that Ally can fully understand the treatment and programs that Directions offer and is able to consent to participate. The team also feel that Ally can make her own decisions for herself, including those with reasonable risks.

The Directions teamwork with young people and children sometimes but they do not have any doctors, nurses, midwives, teachers, police officers or boarding supervisors in the team.

Scenario B

Directions Centre offers a support program to clients who have graduated from the residential AOD service.  The support program provides accommodation and training.

Gary, aged 30, is one of these clients, hasn’t used illicit drugs for 2 years and with the support of his mental health team, has managed his schizophrenia carefully during this time.

Gary had been working as a labourer in a small business and had been receiving great feedback and significant cash bonuses for six months. Over beers one Friday afternoon, Gary explained a little of his AOD and MH history to his boss. The following Sunday evening, the boss sent Gary a text message and told him not to come in to work, and that his final pay had been processed. The boss will not answer his calls.

The Directions worker is helping Gary to respond to the unjust treatment by file a complaint and to register with Centrelink. Gary asked the Directions worker to lend him $200 to help him out, but the worker explained that they are not able to do that.

Scenario C

Directions Centre offers psycho-educational groups in the evenings for people who are waiting for a place in the residential AOD service. For safety, there are 2 community workers, and one reception worker, in the building always during the evenings.

Sami attends on a regular basis and provides positive feedback from the group. Sami was originally referred to Directions via the Cannabis Intervention Requirement and the Police.

He has been living in Australia for 12 months and entered the country as a refugee. Sami believes he has been refused multiple employment and social opportunities because of his cultural background and refugee status. He often becomes distressed and the Directions team have concerns that he may harm himself.

Today, Sami presented to the reception area and appeared agitated. He was speaking loudly, though his words were mumbled and difficult to understand. Sami was pacing up and down the reception area and didn’t engage with the reception worker when they said hello to Sami as they normally do.

For that evening, one worker ran the group while the other worker spoke individually with Sami in the reception are where the reception worker was also present. In this scenario Sami has a right to safety and a quality service, but he also has a responsibility to behave safely and appropriately at the service. The workers have a right to be safe at work and a responsibility to provide good services. Directions must ensure a safe environment for workers and clients.

Scenario D

 (Hint – in this scenario you need to highlight what has gone wrong)

Upon commencing employment at Directions, all Support Workers sign a Code of Conduct agreement outlining acceptable professional behaviour required for working at Directions. In addition, all Support Workers are required to have suitable qualification and need to act in alignment with the Australian Community Work Practice Guidelines.

A client of Directions Centre asks to see the Manager to make a complaint. The client explains that no one in their private life, other than their parents, knows about their AOD use and treatment, and their friends and colleagues think they are away on holiday.

However, when they spoke to their parents on the phone yesterday, their parents said they received a phone call from a worried friend who had heard the client has a “drug problem” and is in “rehab.”  The client says their parents were also very upset when the same friend shared that the client had stolen some money from their employer.

The client stated the only place they had ever revealed this information was in group at Directions. The client says they went to school with one of the Support Workers at the residential service and alleges this Support Worker shared information from their ‘confidential client record’ with mutual acquaintances in a social setting.

‘confidential client record’ for guidance on:

• Privacy
• Staff Code of Conduct/Practice
• Staff access to client records
• Practice Standards and Codes of Practice for the worker’s qualification

(Hint: This is an alleged breach of confidentiality)