21 Health and safety practices standard

The health and safety practices standard requires the service provider for every certified playgroup to take reasonable steps to:

1. maintain good health and safety practices at the playgroup; and
2. ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of children attending the playgroup; and
3. ensure that appropriate procedures are in place to deal with fires, earthquakes, and other emergencies.

Relevant health and safety forms and checklists for playgroups are available to download from this page.

HS1 Premises maintained and hygienic

Criteria

Premises, furniture, furnishings, fittings, equipment, and materials are kept safe, hygienic, and maintained in good condition.

Rationale/intent

The intent of this criteria is to keep children safe.

Guidance

Equipment should be safe and suitable for its purpose and the age of children using it.

Any furnishing or fittings not fit for purpose should be removed from play areas until remedial action can be taken. Items can then be repaired or replaced as soon as possible. If your playgroup is in rented premises talk to your landlord about who is responsible for repairing or replacing furniture, furnishings and fittings.

Hard surfaces should be kept clean, and equipment or toys should be kept hygienic. Toys and materials that children put in their mouths should be cleaned at the end of each day with hot soapy water or put in a washing machine/dishwasher depending on the toy.

Nappy changing areas should be cleaned and disinfected after every nappy change.

More information can be found in the resource:

Nga Kupu Oranga Healthy Messages – Ministry of Health

Bleach as a disinfectant

The Ministry of Health does not recommend any particular cleaning product, as this depends on the purpose and use. However, hydrogen peroxide and bleach are both effective sanitisers and may be used for some purposes. Some cleaning and sanitising products are more or less effective on some bacteria/viruses/soils and so on. The product being used must be effective and used in line with manufacturer guidance. Contact your regional office of the public health service for site-specific advice.

It is recommended that ECE services use bleach as a disinfectant when responding to recent outbreaks of diseases caused by micro-organisms (germs) such as giardia, cryptosporidium and salmonella. Many of these germs are resistant to most disinfectants. Bleaches contain sodium hypochlorite, the chemical which kills bacteria and viruses. Bleach used must be at least 2% hypochlorite. Supermarket bleach is labelled between 2–5% sodium hypochlorite. Bleach solutions must be made fresh daily to remain effective.

A bleach solution may also be the most suitable to disinfect the nappy changing area, toilets and sinks. To work properly the solution needs to:

• Be used on a surface free of dirt/organic material.
• Be a strong enough concentration that is, 0.1% (see table below). If there is visible contamination, then use a stronger 1:10 solution.
• Be sprayed and left on for enough time to kill the bugs before wiping away (ideally 30 minutes contact time).

The solution should be disposed of at the end of the day. Made up chlorine solutions are often kept in spray bottles – the bottle needs to be cleaned daily as dirty hands touch it.

How to make up a 0.1% bleach solution

‘Eco’ or ‘natural’ cleaners

There has been an increased interest in the use of ‘green’, ‘eco’, ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ cleaning products in ECE settings. Be aware that many of these products are suitable only for ‘cleaning’ surfaces by removing dirt, grease and grime, and not for ‘disinfecting’ surfaces to kill disease causing germs.

HS2 Emergencies

Criteria

There are a written emergency plan and supplies to ensure the care and safety of children and adults at the playgroup. The plan must include evacuation procedures for the playgroup’s premises that apply in a variety of emergency situations. If there is an approved fire evacuation scheme for the building in which the playgroup operates, the evacuation procedures must be consistent with that scheme.

Documentation required

A written emergency plan that includes at least

• An evacuation procedure for the premises.
• A list of safety and emergency supplies and resources sufficient for the age and number of children and adults at the playgroup and details of how these will be maintained and accessed in an emergency.
• Details of the roles and responsibilities that will apply during an emergency situation.
• A communication plan for families and support services.
• Evidence of review of the plan on an, at least, annual basis and implementation of improved practices as required.

Rationale/intent

This criterion aims to ensure the safety of children in an emergency and also that adults have the necessary knowledge and supplies to deal with any emergency situation.

Amended May 2015.

Guidance

Despite the fact that your playgroup may only meet once or twice a week, emergencies can occur at any time and playgroups, like all other ECE services, must be ready to respond appropriately.

The written emergency plan must cover all emergency situations relevant to the location of the playgroup such as fire, earthquake, tsunami, flood, storm, volcano, landslide and so on. The plan has a broader scope than just fire evacuation.

The written emergency plan should include at least:

• An evacuation procedure for the premises.
• A list of safety and emergency supplies and resources sufficient for the age and number of children and adults at the service and details of how these will be maintained and accessed in an emergency.
• Details of the roles and responsibilities that will apply during an emergency situation.
• A communication plan for families and support services.
• Evidence of review of the plan on an, at least, annual basis and implementation of improved practices as required.

The building where your playgroup meets may already have an evacuation procedure. Buildings like churches or community halls, and libraries are generally required to have an approved evacuation scheme under fire legislation. Talk to the building owners about this so that your playgroup can be part of any evacuation drills or planning. You will need to regularly practice emergency evacuations/drills so that every adult and child knows what they can expect and need to do in an emergency.

Adults running your playgroup should be able to confidently and knowledgeably:

• talk about the procedures without needing to refer to any documentation.
• identify the roles that they and others will play during an emergency drill.
• describe how children (walking and non-walking) will be managed during an emergency drill.
• describe how they will deal with any unexpected circumstance that arises during an emergency drill – that is respond to questions such as "how will you manage if several of your 3 to 4-year-olds refuse to walk independently from the building?".

The National Emergency Management Agency have a What’s the Plan Stan website which focuses on helping children prepare for an emergency and a special section which aims to support adults to develop children’s knowledge, skills and attitudes to respond to and prepare for an emergency.

What's the Plan, Stan? – Get Ready

It may be more difficult to evacuate children from centres that are not at ground level in the event of a fire. Fire evacuation schemes need to identify ways to mitigate this. We recommend reading the guidance for high rise evacuation plans for ECE service providers

Things to consider

• What type of emergencies might occur in your area and what will you need to do if they occur?
• Do you have access to torches or emergency lighting?
• Do you have a cell phone to make an emergency call?
• Are the safety procedures in the building being maintained?
• What processes does the building owner have for maintaining the Civil Defence kit and emergency drills?
• Where is your list of emergency contact phone numbers?
• What information is available from your local council about emergency procedures?
• How do playgroup members find out about the emergency procedures?
• How do you ensure that sufficient essential resources such as nappies, food, water and essential medical supplies are available?
• Where is your local civil defence meeting place?

HS2A Safe assembly areas

Criteria

Designated assembly areas for evacuation purposes outside the building keep children safe from further risk.

Rationale/intent

The criterion aims to uphold the safety of children by ensuring that assembly areas do not place children in further danger – on a main highway for example. The criterion is also based on the assumption that a safe assembly area is more likely to result in regular drills being carried out.

Amended May 2015.

Guidance

Although it is important there is a place for people at the playgroup to go to when a fire breaks out, it is just as important to ensure that this place does not put children or adults in further danger from other hazards. This can be a challenge for some playgroups because of the layout of their premises and proximity to main roads, carparks, waterways and so on. Young children often behave erratically when scared or distressed, and adults need to reduce stress (for themselves, as well as for the children) in these situations as much as possible.

Talk with regional Ministry of Education playgroup certification staff and Fire and Emergency New Zealand personnel about the best options for your particular situation.

Regional offices

Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Things to consider

Selecting an appropriate assembly area should also take into account where Fire and Emergency New Zealand vehicles and personnel might be when they are responding to a fire.

The place chosen should be checked to ensure children or adults will not be trapped in an area from which they can’t escape if the fire should spread. For instance, in an area surrounded by high walls or fences with no exit other than through the fire area.

The use of portable orange netting, cones and walking ropes can be useful for keeping children together while moving and once they have reached the final place of safety.

Ideally any equipment needed should be stored near the exits from the building to avoid the need to retrieve it from more distant storage areas when evacuating the building in an emergency.

Consideration should be given as to how children will be kept warm and dry if evacuation takes place during wet or windy weather. Playgroups may be able to make some arrangement with a nearby business or other organisation to assist with this.

A "grab bag” ready near the building exit to take when playgroups evacuate to an assembly area should be provided. In addition to emergency supplies and medication, this could include books or other items that can be used to engage children’s attention while at the assembly point.

If adults suspect that during the process of exiting or re-entry to a building to secure items poses further risk to their own lives or the lives of others, then they should not do so.

HS3 Securing furniture

Criteria

Positive steps are taken to prevent injury to people and damage to property resulting from unsecured heavy furniture, fixtures and equipment falling.

Intent/rationale

This criterion aims to ensure adults and children are kept safe from harm.

Guidance

In all areas of the playgroup premises, large and heavy items of furniture and equipment and appliances must be secured to the structure of the building. Smaller appliances such as stereos or microwave ovens can be secured with industrial Velcro.

Lighter things such as books and blocks can also cause injury if they fall on children. These can be held on shelves by wire, or a short chain connected to the shelf with a metal eye or hook.

See Things to consider for securing furniture that may need to be moved frequently.

Lockable castors should be used to prevent trolleys or shelving on wheels from moving around. Think about weight distribution on free standing shelves.

Things to consider

When securing these items, the following guidelines will be useful:

• Always fasten to the structure of the building. Studs are fine, but wallboards may be too weak.
• Make sure that the fastenings you use are strong enough to hold the weight of the heavy object. What will happen if it gets bounced up and down?
• When you can, try to fasten objects near the top rather than at the bottom. If you cannot, then the fastenings at the bottom will need to be very strong. This is because of the leverage effect when something topples (a fridge for example).

Connections that are easy to unclip and re-clip allow you to move furniture when you need to. You can place fastening points at several places around the walls (in some buildings).

A short chain on the furniture connected to a metal eye on the wall, by means of a carabiner, D-bolt or similar, can be a good system. This means you can change your furniture around, and still have secure fastening for the heavy objects.

HS4 Emergency drills

Criteria

Adults providing education and care are familiar with relevant emergency drills and carry these out with children on an at least 3-monthly basis emergency drills are practised.

Documentation required

A record of emergency drills carried out and evidence of how evaluation of the drills has informed the annual review of the playgroup’s emergency plan.

Rationale/intent

The criterion aims to uphold the safety of children by ensuring that:

• adults at the service have the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to deal with emergency situations
• review of the service’s emergency plan and evacuation procedures occur annually and
• children are familiar with, and confident in, responding to emergency procedures.

The intention of this criteria is to ensure that adults and children have the knowledge to respond safely in an emergency.

Amended May 2015.

Guidance

Research has shown that the factor that most contributes to reducing injuries and fatalities during any emergency evacuation is regular practice. This ensures that any coordinators and parents are familiar with procedures and that children also become familiar and comfortable with what is expected of them.

Regular practice will also ensure that any equipment that will be relied on in an evacuation will be subject to regular checks, for example, any special equipment that might be used to assist in the evacuation of the non-walking children. It is also recommended that the adults have a range of strategies available to manage any children whose behaviour has become disturbed during the evacuation.

The following activities will support you in ensuring that all adults are familiar with the evacuation procedures:

• Evacuation procedure briefing for all parents.
• Including emergency plans and procedures as a regular agenda item for meetings.
• Communication with parents and families, via noticeboards and in newsletters.

It is important that the children are familiar and comfortable with the evacuation procedures. In addition to participation in regular trial evacuations, familiarity with emergency responses can be included as appropriate in the playgroup’s programme.

Playgroups are expected to have emergency drills at least every 3 months. Evacuation drills should be organised to test a variety of emergency situations and scenarios. For example, practising both earthquake drills and fire evacuation drills, and practising evacuation via alternative exits if these are available. You should aim to hold your trial evacuations at times when you have typical numbers of children, of varying ages, and adults at the playgroup. Consider also the timing of evacuations and whether or not attending parents will be notified in advance. Holding unannounced evacuations at challenging times (for example during morning teatime) may be inconvenient but will give you greater assurance that your procedures are effective.

It may be more difficult to evacuate children from centres that are not at ground level in the event of a fire. Fire evacuation schemes need to identify ways to mitigate this. We recommend reading the guidance for high rise evacuation plans for ECE service providers (see HS2 Emergencies, above).

Documentation guidance

You need to keep records of the emergency drills.

You should review your emergency plans and evacuation procedures at least once a year. Records of each trial evacuation should be used to inform that review. If any changes are required to your evacuation procedures, these should be noted promptly in your evacuation plans and any other documentation and notices updated. Remember also to communicate to all staff, family and others if you have made any changes.

Things to consider

An example of an emergency drill to practise is the earthquake drill.

For earthquake drills the safest response for adults and children is likely to be the use of the ‘turtle’ position. A person in this position has their body tucked up with their knees and forehead on the floor, and their hands covering the back of their neck. This position provides maximum protection for the face, internal organs, and the most important area of the spinal column.

HS5 Food hygiene

Criteria

Any food is prepared, served, and stored hygienically.

Rationale/intent

The criterion aims to ensure hygienic food practices are maintained for the safety of children.

Guidance

Basic food hygiene is important to avoid outbreaks of food-borne illness at Playgroups.

A Playgroup should provide enough fridge space to store chilled foods – including milk and yoghurt provided by parents for infants and children.

Under The Food Act (2014), education and care services including playgroups that undertake minimal food handling (for example where very limited food is provided (cut fruit, biscuits and so on) and where children bring their own lunchboxes) are only subject to the basic requirement to ensure food is safe and suitable.

Food Act 2014 – New Zealand Legislation

The Ministry for Primary Industries Manatū Ahu Matua (MPI) has developed some Food Safe guidance including a Food Safety Factsheet, as well as providing tips for food safety. Check out also food safety rules on MPI website.

Food safety rules – Ministry for Primary Industries

Food safety resources – Ministry for Primary Industries

Food safety at home – Ministry for Primary Industries

HS6 Room temperature

Criteria

The premises are kept at a comfortable temperature while children are attending.

Rationale/intent

This criterion aims to uphold the wellbeing of children.

Guidance

It is recommended that rooms used by children are kept at a comfortable temperature no lower than 18°C at 500mm above the floor while children are attending.

The World Health Organisation recommends a minimum indoor temperature of 18°C.

Having the building too warm could lead to lethargy in children and adults.

Things to consider

If you think your heating is inadequate discuss heating options with the building owner. You might like to think about taking turns in winter to come in earlier and get the heaters going (or maybe there is someone else in the building who will do this for you?) so that the rooms have heated up to 16°C when the rest of the group come in.

HS7 Hazard management

Criteria

Equipment, premises and facilities are checked on every day of operation for hazards to children. Hazards to the safety of the children are eliminated, isolated or minimised.

Consideration of hazards must include but is not limited to:

• cleaning agents, medicines, poisons, and other hazardous materials
• electrical sockets
• heating appliances
• hazards present in kitchen or laundry facilities
• foreign materials (for example glass, animal droppings), equipment faults, vandalism, and dangerous objects
• the condition and placement of equipment
• poisonous plants and
• bodies of water (such as pools or water troughs).

Rationale/intent

The purpose of this criteria is to ensure that environmental hazards are regularly checked and addressed.

Amended May 2015.

Guidance

A key aspect of promoting health and safety of everyone at the playgroup is hazard management. A hazard is any activity, situation or substance that can cause harm. Harm can be injury, illness or both.

As playgroups may share the venue with other groups, the hazard checklist needs to be tailored to the venue, especially areas and items that are shared – for example toilets, kitchen, power points and fixed furniture and equipment.

A sample list of potential hazards is available as a starting point. Any hazards found should be documented and eliminated, isolated or minimised. Hazards in the playground are of particular concern in playgroups.

Supervision

Supervision is an essential component of hazard and risk management in a playgroup. Supervision must be active and focussed.

The type of supervision required depends on the layout of the premises, activities being undertaken, equipment being used, the ratio of adults to children, and the number, ages and needs of children.

Direct, close and constant supervision by parents, caregivers and educators will be required if an activity includes an element of risk. For example, climbing, cooking, using ropes, cords or tools of any kind or activities near water.

Ensuring children do not have unsupervised access to hazardous equipment such as ropes, cords and tools is a key aspect of supervision. Access to any hazardous equipment must be closely monitored.

Parents, caregivers and educators should guide children on how to use equipment appropriately and safely.

Knowing children’s interests and abilities will assist parents, caregivers and educators to anticipate children’s play. Anticipating what children might do next will help parents, caregivers and educators support children if challenges or difficulties arise and intervene if there is potential danger. To ensure risk is minimised or eliminated, parents, caregivers and educators should guide children’s behaviour and approach to play when necessary.

If an activity poses a risk, parents, caregivers and educators will use their judgement to ensure that the right kind of supervision can be provided. If close supervision cannot be provided for an activity which requires it, then parents, caregivers and educators should encourage children to modify their activity or defer it until the appropriate level of supervision can be provided.

Parents, caregivers and educators should have regular conversations about how play is supervised in their own setting.

Health & Safety at Work Act 2015

If your playgroup has any paid workers, then you will have obligations under the Health & Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA). Additional guidance about the HSWA is available for early learning services.

Information to help you meet this criterion

Your hazard and risk management system are likely to be made up of 3 main processes:

1. Documented daily hazard checks – inside and out.
2. Documented playground safety checks – possibly 4 times per year.
3. Regular hazard review – although your hazard register should be updated whenever new information comes available, it is useful to have a formal review, perhaps on an annual basis.

Below are some additional sources of information for support around hazard and risk management.

• WorkSafe information on risks in ECE services.

  What risk looks like in early childhood education – WorkSafe

• WorkSafe bulletin on managing strangulation hazards on play equipment.

  Managing strangulation hazards on play equipment – WorkSafe

• Tips for parents and caregivers on child safety (including hot water safety).

  Safekids Aotearoa – Starship

• Information about safety around plants in ECE services and which plants to avoid.

  Poisonous plants – Manaaki Whenua | Landcare Research

• Information on keeping children safe in the sun.

  SunSmart

Things to consider

Consider a sequential approach to hazard and risk management. For example:

1. Identify hazards and risks.
2. Assess the likelihood and impact of identified risks.
3. Respond to hazard or risk – what will be done, when, by whom?
4. Monitor and review hazard and risk management system and practices.

Issues to consider in developing a hazard and risk identification and management system to ensure hazards are assessed and addressed in an ongoing way are:

• How hazards and risks will be identified?
• How processes for updating the identification of hazards and risks on a regular basis will be updated?
• If a hazard is identified, how it will be eliminated, isolated or minimised? When will it be done? Who is responsible for this?
• What opportunity is there for parents, caregivers and educators to contribute to hazard and risk management systems, processes and practice?
• How will visitors to the service be informed about identified hazards?
• How is the maintenance of premises and equipment documented, managed and budgeted for?
• How are maintenance issues communicated to the person in charge or governance committee for any repairs or replacement?
• How are the service’s hazard and risk management checklists reviewed and used to inform the service’s management and practice, for example supervision, maintenance, repairs?

HS8 Smoking

Criteria

No person on the premises smokes or vapes in any area which is available for use by children or for food preparation while children are present.

Rationale/intent

The purpose of this criteria is to protect children’s health and wellbeing from the impact of smoking.

Guidance

All areas of the premises accessible to children, both indoors and outdoors, must be 100% smoke/vape-free.

Parents should never smoke or vape at the playgroup while children are attending the service.

You will need to think about a process for parents to manage situations where an adult present at the premises wishes to smoke or vape. This will include the outside area when children are present.

It is a good idea to include this requirement in a parent information pack.

HS9 Alcohol and other substances

Criteria

No person on the premises uses or is under the influence of alcohol or any other substance that has a detrimental effect on their functioning or behaviour during the playgroups’ hours of operation.

Rationale/intent

This criterion aims to uphold the safety and wellbeing of children.

Guidance

It is a good idea to have a policy and process in regard to alcohol and other substances for volunteers, parents and visitors to the playgroup.

Your policy should be developed in conjunction with your community so there is a shared understanding of what actions a service may take. Your agreed process should be included in a parent information pack.

Your policy should cover:

• What would your playgroup community do if a parent or caregiver arrived to drop off or collect a child or they intend to stay and they were under the influence of alcohol or any other substance?
• What would you do if a visitor arrived, and they were under the influence of alcohol or any other substance?

HS10 Inappropriate material

Criteria

All practicable steps are taken to protect children from exposure to inappropriate material (for example, of an explicitly sexual or violent nature).

Rationale/intent

The criterion aims to uphold the safety and wellbeing of children by ensuring that pornographic or violent material (written, visual or electronic) is not available to children.

Guidance

When playgroups meet in buildings that are also used for other purposes or by other groups, it is possible for children to be exposed to inappropriate or disturbing material. Posters, magazines, pamphlets, and so on, that are intended for adults might be disturbing or inappropriate for young children.

Assessing material

Censor classifications can be used as a guide, however you should preview or listen to material to check for suitability before sharing it with children.

What may be regarded as not objectionable under the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act may, nevertheless, be inappropriate and harmful to children given the impact of the medium in which the publication is presented and the age of the children to whom the publication is available.

Use of computers, iPads etc

Supervising children using computers or iPads at your playgroup is essential. If your playgroup has access to the internet (either for use with the children or in an office) you should consider password protection and the use of parental locks.

Exposure to objectionable material may occur inadvertently through normal and legitimate searching activities or by unsolicited email delivery.

Things to consider

• What can children see or hear when they are at the playgroup?
• What kinds of images can children see in magazines and other print materials available for collage activities (for example ‘sealed sections’ and photo spreads appearing in some women’s magazines)?
• How would adults respond when children bring inappropriate material from home?
• Do children have access to the internet when at the playgroup? If so:
  • Consider the use of software programmes available to support safe searching techniques.
  • Parents should be aware of safe searching techniques and provide information to children on how to react and deal with unsolicited, inappropriate material.

Netsafe has developed acceptable use policy templates for ECE Services, and parents or caregivers. The templates may be downloaded from Netsafe.

Kete Education Hub – Netsafe

HS11 Child protection

Criteria

There is a written child protection policy that meets the requirements of the Children's Act 2014. The policy contains provisions for the identification and reporting of child abuse and neglect, and information about how the service will keep children safe from abuse and neglect, and how it will respond to suspected child abuse and neglect.

The policy must be reviewed every 3 years.

Documentation required

1. A written child protection policy that contains:
   • provisions for the service’s identification and reporting of child abuse and neglect
   • information about the practices the service employs to keep children safe from abuse and neglect and
   • information about how the service will respond to suspected child abuse and neglect.
2. A procedure that sets out how the service will identify and respond to suspected child abuse and/or neglect.

Intent

Child protection policies support children’s workers to identify and respond to vulnerability, including possible abuse and neglect.

Guidance

Playgroups must have a child protection policy that meets the Children's Act 2014 requirements.

The policy must:

• contain provisions on the identification and reporting of neglect and abuse, and
• be written, and
• be reviewed every 3 years.

To be helpful, the policy should contain definitions of neglect and abuse so that adults can apply these consistently when needed.

We’ve published a guide to the help you navigate the child protection policy requirements set out in the Children’s Act 2014.

Documentation

Safer organisations, Safer children

The Safer organisations, Safer children publication provides advice on good practice to help organisations draft high quality child protection policies and review their procedures.

The guidelines include a review tool to help services identify gaps in current policies, information about what to include in a new policy, as well as example policies including a policy used in an early childhood education setting.

Working together guide

The policy needs to be consistent with advice provided by Oranga Tamariki in the Working together guide.

Working together seminars – Oranga Tamariki | Ministry for Children

Adults at the Playgroup require guidelines on:

• the signs and symptoms of child abuse and neglect
• roles and responsibilities around record keeping and reporting
• responsibilities to children
• limitations of their role.

Digital child protection resource

The Ministry of Education, alongside Te Rito Maioha Early Childhood New Zealand and Safeguarding Children, have developed a digital child protection resource specifically for the early learning sector. See the instructions below to access the resource.

1. Go to Education Learning Management System at
   training.education.govt.nz
2. Select 'Login with ESL'
3. Select 'Catalogue' from the top menu
4. Search for 'Child Protection'.

In order to access child protection training you are required to have an Education Sector Logon (ESL) as there is a formal acknowledgment of completion. To get an ESL account, please contact your organisation’s ESL Delegated Authoriser.

If you would like to know more about having an Education Sector Login (ESL) to access the Education Learning Management System, refer to:

Education Sector Logon (ESL) – Applications and Online Systems

If you need assistance creating an ESL account, please ring the Education Service Desk on 0800 422 599 or email them to [email protected].

HS12 Incident notification to the Ministry of Education

Criteria

Where there is a serious injury or illness or incident involving a child while at the playgroup, the service provider must notify us as soon as practicable after the event.

Guidance

After the incident has been managed on site (for example, first aid provided, parents notified, any other agencies notified if required), it is recommended that you then call your regional Ministry office to inform them of the incident. Then you should send them a copy of the notification.

Regional offices

Once notified, we will follow up with the service to ensure any recommended actions are put in place.