Quality Assurance Procedures

Transcription

1 Quality Assurance Procedures It is the policy of the Department of Emergency Services to provide a formal quality assurance review process. I. Quality Assurance Reviews A. Purpose To establish standards for performance review and quality assurance in the 911 emergency communications center. The standards contained herein are designed to promote adherence to established 911 center goals and procedures, facilitate the learning process for 911 center personnel, and provide a framework for continuous improvement of the overall operation of the 911 center. These procedures will provide the operational standards that are needed to ensure the 911 center consistently provides the best possible emergency communications to the citizens in Chester County. B. Scope These activities will be used to evaluate the performance of various aspects of a telecommunicator s duties. In addition to measuring individual performance, these activities will aid in determining whether the processes used by the telecommunicators are functionally efficient on a regular basis. C. Standards and Procedures for Quality Assurance Reviews 1. A quality assurance reviewer will be trained in the area in which they are conducting the review. A quality assurance reviewer will be from one of the following areas: a. Quality Assurance Division b. Training department c. Communications Staff (Supervisors, Assistant and Alternate Supervisors) 2. Communications and Training Staff will have guidelines indicating their involvement in the quality assurance process. These guidelines are issued through the joint effort of the Quality Assurance Division and the Communications Manager. 3. A random sampling of 911 communications center calls will be reviewed on a recurring basis to ensure compliance with the standards set forth by PEMA, as well as those outlined in the standard operating procedures of communications center. If needed, additional reviews will be performed in order to ensure that each telecommunicator receives a minimum of one call-taking review per month. All calls, whether voice or TDD/TTY, will be reviewed in the same manner. The reviewer will complete a review form for each review. 4. The Quality Assurance Division shall ensure a minimum of 2% of the 911 calls and.5% of the 10 digit calls the center processes are reviewed. 911 hang up calls will not be included within the 2% audit requirement. A minimum of 7.5% of the medical call base is audited for EMD standards. 5. The Quality Assurance Division will ensure each dispatcher qualified telecommunicator receives a minimum of one dispatching review per month. All dispatches, depending on discipline, will be reviewed in the same manner. The reviewer will complete a review form for each review. The quality assurance reviewer will complete a review form for each segment reviewed. 6. In order to provide optimum feedback, the date selected for review will not exceed five days prior to the review. Telecommunicators should receive the results of the review process within five working days (5 working days on shift) of the review. Copies of each review will be retained on file at the 911 communications center for three years.

2 7. The reviews will be used to support the development and assessment of goals and expectations on the telecommunicators yearly performance appraisal. They will also be used to identify areas of the telecommunicators job performance that may require additional or supplemental training, and aid in determining whether any processes of the 911 communications center require modification or change. 8. All telecommunicators, whether they are part-time or full-time employees of the 911 communications center, shall be subject to this quality assurance review process. 9. Any quality assurance actions that are initiated in response to the results of an audit will be documented and included as part of the audit. II. Processing reviews A. Recorded materials related to the incident (Incident History, Radio and/or Telephone recordings) are reviewed and reviewer will determine if applicable standards were met by noting Yes or No in the rating field. B. A comment should be noted for each No rating. C. An overall summarization of the incident should be noted in the additional comment section. Good performance and performance needing improvement should be noted. D. Evaluations will be ed to the telecommunicator s supervisor once completed. E. The supervisor may review all materials prior to forwarding the audit to the telecommunicator. The supervisor may make additional comments on the form at this time. F. The supervisor will have five shift working days (days on shift) to forward the quality assurance review to the telecommunicator. G. The supervisor does not need to perform a sit down review session for each review with the telecommunicator unless: 1. The current review score is less than 90% or 100%. 2. The cumulative score for the previous 3 months is less than 90% or 100%. H. Once a quarter the supervisor will conduct a review session with each telecommunicator covering reviews / performance for the previous 3 months. The supervisor will retain a signed copy of these quarterly reviews. I. As part of the review process the supervisor will cover the following: 1. Review the copy of the incident history. 2. Play the audio recording, if needed. 3. Address the review findings 4. Discuss developmental areas and outline steps for improvement. 5. Discuss areas that were exceptional performance. J. The telecommunicator may note any comments they have on the review form.

3 K. The supervisor will note in the review software the date the reviews were forwarded and/or reviewed with the telecommunicator. L. The review form will be provided to the telecommunicator, the department s copy will be maintained in the computer for three years. III. Quality Assurance Review Performance Standards A. EMD / Phone Quality Assurance Reviews 1. Location a. Location asked b. Correct location entered Used commonplace name if available and appropriate c. Cross streets asked d. Cross streets verified e. Municipality asked f. Correct municipality entered g. Proper verification format used 2. CAD Entry a. Incident entered in a timely fashion b. Asked appropriate questions to determine problem c. Selects appropriate type code d. Location information field used when appropriate e. RP name obtained f. RP name entered g. RP address/affiliation obtained h. RP address/affiliation entered i. Callback number obtained j. Callback number entered k. Text contains pertinent information only l. Text easily understood m. Timely entry of supplements n. Was all information pertinent to the incident entered o. Was Details to Follow used 3. Customer Service a. RP kept on phone as appropriate b. Courteous and respectful c. Displays professional manner d. Controls conversation e. Reassures caller f. Uses calming techniques when appropriate 4. EMD a. Determines if patient is conscious b. Determines if patient is breathing normally c. Patient age obtained d. Patient gender obtained e. Short report format used for text information f. EMD instructions provided g. EMD instructions provided correctly

4 B. Police Radio Quality Assurance Reviews 1. Dispatch a. Correct location dispatched b. Commonplace name dispatched c. Location information dispatched d. Proper dispatch order used e. General dispatch skills applied 2. Radio Transmissions a. Answers radio promptly b. Answers radio appropriately c. Speaks clearly d. Avoids clipping: e. All pertinent information relayed f. Information relayed is easily understood g. Information relayed in a timely fashion h. Listens attentively i. Understands message j. Radio procedures followed k. Alert Tones used appropriately 3. Customer Service a. Timely follow up on requests b. Proper unit status kept c. Proper incident documentation maintained d. Maintains calm professional demeanor e. Displays confidence f. Respectful C. Fire Radio Quality Assurance Reviews 1. Dispatch a. Correct location dispatched b. Commonplace name dispatched c. Location information dispatched d. Appropriate cross streets dispatched e. Municipality dispatched f. Station identifier dispatched g. Second tap dispatched as appropriate h. Response check as appropriate i. Working frequency dispatch completed j. Alert tones dispatched as appropriate k. In place of and Cover procedures used as appropriate l. Proper dispatch order used 2. Radio Transmissions a. Answers radio promptly b. Answers radio appropriately c. Speaks clearly d. Avoids clipping: e. All pertinent information relayed f. Information relayed is easily understood

5 g. Information relayed in a timely fashion h. Listens attentively i. Understands message j. Radio procedures followed 4. Customer Service a. Timely follow up on requests b. Proper unit status kept c. Proper incident documentation maintained d. Maintains calm professional demeanor e. Displays confidence f. Respectful D. Supervisor Quality Assurance Review. 1. Supervisor personnel receive a minimum of 4 quality assurance reviews a year. 2. A supervisor review consists of an overview of various supervisory functions and the review period will consist of a four-day rotation. 3. The following supervisory performance standards will be checked during each review. a. Quality assurance guidelines met by the supervisor in the following areas: 1) Quantity of reviews completed per set guidelines. 2) Quality of review: Fair, complete and accurately reflects employee performance. b. Policies and procedures enforced. c. Supervisor abreast of activities throughout center. d. NOTAPs: 1) Understandable 2) Complete 3) Accurate e. Maintaining shift status: 1) Proper staffing and scheduling 2) Continual training for personnel, employee development 3) Support provided to assistant and staff 4) Maintains positive environment f. Ensure accuracy and quality 1) Monitors calls 2) Walks floor 3) Provides immediate positive feedback E. The Quality Assurance Division, with the approval of the Director of Emergency Services, may make changes to or redesign review format as needed.

6 IV. General Operations 1. Incident Review A) Citizen or Field User Inquiry 1) Perform immediate investigation and gather specific details 2) Contact a representative of the Quality Assurance Division with details 3) Page Assistant Director for Quality for major issues. B) Field User Request for Evidence Request 1) Perform immediate investigation and gather specific details. 2) Have field user go to the department website to fill out an Evidence Request form. C) Security / Confidentiality 1) When using recorder your personal sign in and password will be used. 2) Sign on and passwords are not to be given to or used by anyone else. 3) If you forget your password see a representative of the Quality Assurance Division. 4) Pennsylvania State law, the Chester County District Attorney s office and the County of Chester govern recordings of telephone conversations. a. All applicable laws and guidelines will be followed. b. Any telephone recording released will be done through the Director s or Quality Assurance Division s office with the approval of the District Attorney and/or the County Solicitor s office or by the issuance of a subpoena. c. Any radio recording released will be done through the Director s or Quality Assurance Division s office. d. Radio and telephone recordings may be used internally for training, quality assurance and investigative matters.