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4.2.1. The Open Arms leadership maintains a clear vision for the service and for improving the quality of care through commitment to – and active practice of – the Open Arms Leadership Compact.

4.2.2. Leadership teams (national and regional) are visible (see the Open Arms organisational charts) and actively engage with and support clients, clinicians, managers and staff through national and regional meetings, updates, operational supervision and advisory forums.

4.2.3. Open Arms leadership is informed by the Australian Public Service Employee Census, is actively reviewed and responds to rates of satisfaction and staff engagement. 

4.2.4. Appropriate governance structures, including committee and reporting processes, are in place to effectively monitor and improve clinical performance. Information on the Open Arms Continuous Quality Improvement Steering Committee is available in the Continuous Quality Improvement Policy (102). 

4.2.5. Open Arms has active change management strategies to communicate, enable and sustain quality improvement processes through the integration of structured change processes which are focused on people, process and tools. The Open Arms change management strategy aligns with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) change management agenda, which focuses on culture, leadership initiatives, change capability transformation and the development of a high-performing workforce.

4.2.6. Open Arms values and actively incorporates lived experience into design, development, implementation and evaluation of policy and programs through operationalising the Open Arms lived experience framework. This includes lived experience representation on committees such as the National Advisory Committee and Regional Advisory Forums.

4.2.7. Systemic integration of lived experience peer workers – in both client facing and national operations roles – enhances organisational military cultural awareness and competence. 

4.2.8. Open Arms maintains open and transparent communication policies and procedures through the use of a single source of truth through the online Communication and Operations Resource Exchange (CORE) platform.

4.3.1. The Open Arms Care Policy is client centred and ensures clients are partners in their own recovery, commencing on intake – where they are invited to state preferences for allocation (including worker type, location, timing) – through to collaborative care planning, treatment and discharge from an episode of care.

4.3.2. Client feedback, both positive and negative, is sought and used to review and improve services. This is achieved through both the Client Feedback Management System and Open Arms specific client satisfaction surveys.

4.3.3. Feedback, including complaints, is responded to in consultation with the client to reach suitable resolutions and these outcomes are then used to drive improvement.

4.3.4. Open Arms actively engages in co-design with its clients and lived-experience workforce to ensure needs are recognised and perspectives considered. This includes using surveys, forums and workshops during project design, implementation and evaluation. 

4.3.5. The Open Arms Rights and Responsibilities brochure provides a transparent, easily understood contract of mutual obligations between Open Arms and its clients to ensure accountable partnerships.

4.4.1. Open Arms has a robust staff onboarding process (see the Mental Health Workforce Policy (400)) that includes orientation and induction in safety and quality issues.

4.4.2. Open Arms engages appropriately qualified and skilled mental health workers to deliver its mental health services. 

4.4.3. Training in military culture is provided by Open Arms to its entire workforce, to enhance understanding, engagement and collaboration with our clients in a culturally appropriate way. 

4.4.4. SStaff have the requisite skills, knowledge and experience in working with serving and ex-serving military and their families, including understanding high-prevalence clinical conditions in these populations and evidence-based approaches to supporting clients experiencing them.

4.4.5. Peer workers operate within a clinical framework and their client work is overseen by clinicians.

4.4.6. Clinical support staff are supervised by clinicians and trained in the areas of confidentiality and immediate support, including through attendance at Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) or safeTALK as applicable.

4.4.7. Performance frameworks provide a mechanism to ensure mental health workers are meeting continuing professional development requirements. For in-centre workers this includes the use of Performance Agreement and Development Plans. For Outreach Program contractors this includes initial statutory registration eligibility checks and annual registration audits.

4.4.8. Quality systems, including workforce skills audit, are in place to ensure critical clinical and peer work training requirements are met.

4.4.9. Open Arms mental health workers receive regular supervision (internal and external) and mentoring and support, including access to the employer assistance program.

4.4.10. Staff have access to grievance and dispute processes or mediation processes, based on principles of transparency and social justice. 

4.5.1.    This section should be read in conjunction with the Open Arms Care Policy (202), Clinical Risk Management Policy (203) and Continuous Quality Improvement Policy (102).

4.5.2.    Open Arms complies with the legal and reporting responsibilities of the DVA and with Commonwealth and state/territory mandatory reporting obligations, as well as requirements of relevant professional registration agencies.

4.5.3.    Clinicians and peers work within their approved credentialing and scope of practice requirements and regularly review their own performance.

4.5.4.    Clinical auditing and adverse event reviews contribute to continuous quality improvement by identifying opportunities to enhance services to clients and eliminate or mitigate risk. Open Arms has a Clinical Audit Framework to ensure that regular review points are built into the delivery of care and built into policies and procedures supporting the investigation of adverse events.

4.5.5.    Samples of care plans are reviewed by senior clinicians, including the use of outcome measures and feedback to evaluate the effectiveness of care. This includes consideration of complex cases at multidisciplinary group clinical review meetings.

4.5.6.    Leadership teams and senior workers provide oversight and supervision to clinical and peer teams, to ensure evidence-based best practice approaches are being applied.  

4.5.7.    The Open Arms Care Coordination Procedure (202-09) is situated in a person-centred model of care. The procedure employs a proactive, integrated and collaborative approach to coordinate care, handover and referral to complimentary or alternate services and supports. 

4.5.8.    Where treatment errors are identified through complaints or systemic review processes, including case reviews and audit, the issue is addressed promptly through the relevant Open Arms procedure(s).

4.6.1.    This section should be read in conjunction with the Open Arms Clinical Risk Management Policy (203).

4.6.2.    Risk identification and treatment strategies are regularly reviewed to ensure early identification of trends in risk across all clinical and peer-based services.

4.6.3.    Where safety is compromised, leadership and risk systems support staff to initiate appropriate and timely escalation, management and corrective action.

4.6.4.    All issues related to risk are subsequently reviewed in order to inform future practice and improve safety.

4.6.5.    Open Arms supports staff to pursue safe practice and speak up when safety issues are identified.

4.6.6.    Clinical processes, equipment and technology are designed to minimise error and support clear, unambiguous communication between staff.

4.6.7.    Risk considerations and data inform goal and priority setting and the development of business and strategic plans.

4.6.8.    Adverse events are investigated using a restorative practice approach – to identify underlying systems issues – and this information is used to improve safety.

4.6.9.    Open disclosure processes are in line with the Australian open disclosure framework (ACSQHC 2013). Additional information on open disclosure is included in the Clinical Risk Management Policy (203).