Successes

 24x7 Injury Management Service

The organisation is a large premium brand beverage and food company and one of the top five bottlers in the world. The company employs 6,000 employees across Australia, covering over 100 site locations as well as field employees. The client views the safety and wellbeing of its staff as a high priority, and has a strong safety culture and drive to maintain a “zero harm” environment.

The company is acutely aware that early access to medical services, together with the early involvement of rehabilitation services, is required to improve the outcomes for injured or ill employees. The client also understands that in some circumstances it may be difficult to determine whether or not an injury is related to an employee’s work or other unrelated factors. The company was seeking a solution that could provide staff with equal and priority access to specialist services for the management of injuries or illnesses in the earliest stages, or before any medical involvement is required.

“Having an injury triage nurse guide an employee on immediate next steps, and then send follow up notifications to their manager and the Injury Management Team (IMT), has allowed us to proactively manage injuries from the time they happen. This provides much better return to work and wellbeing outcomes for our staff, as well as amazing financial outcomes for the business.”  (National Injury Manager)

The Solution

Direct Health Solutions (DHS) was engaged by the organisation in June 2015 to deliver a centralised Injury Triage Hotline for employees across the business. The client was keen to maintain the lead as an industry innovator in this space. The strategic aim of the program was to reduce the quantity of employees being referred to a doctor in the first instance, with objectives covering:

• Single 1800 contact point for all reportable injuries (from basic first aid through to more serious case management)
• Providing a hassle-free experience with the best possible treatment
• Speedy referral to doctors and physiotherapists for medical attention
• Ability to speak to a qualified triage nurse at no cost to the injured worker
• A process that is easy to use for both employee and manager alike
• Full incident reporting and immediate notification to all key stakeholders (such as IMT, and the injured worker’s manager and supervisor)
• Permission for pre-determined national staff to access copies of reports from the DHS IncidentTrack reporting platform
• Easy exporting of data into excel for more in-depth analysis by the IMT/Head of Health & Safety

The IMT was in great support of the injury process from start to finish, liaising with managers, workers, doctors and physiotherapists to ensure the best possible outcome for the injured worker and the company overall. Over the last few years the business has increased its focus on personal injury and mental health, thereby enabling the best outcome across the board for both the worker and the organisation. The client is deeply aware of the link between personal injury and illness, and worker’s engagement and motivation to attend work.

Results

Since the introduction of the program in 2015, the company has achieved a reduction in Lost Time Injuries (LTIs) by an average of 55% each year. The early notification of injuries at all levels has been critical to the success of the program. Further, most injuries are “self-management” which correlates with the company’s Total Reportable Injury Frequency Rate (TRIFR), which directly impacts premium calculations ($4.24M annually versus industry standard of $8.58M).

Another key driver of success for the company is showing providers such as brokers, rehabilitation providers, psychologists and WorkCover that the business is addressing people risk with the most up-to-date thinking and strategies. Other successes include:

• Providing better support to the injured worker
• Leadership coaching and return to work planning
• Strong partnerships with additional third party providers