Night Walk in Forest Park

Night Walk in Forest Park

OVERDUE RETURN PROTOCOL FOR CENTRE BASED COURSES.

When there is an activity taking place (including staff training), the designated staff member responsible for ETA that day must not leave the building until the ETA board is checked and all groups are accounted for.

If a group has not returned to the Centre within 1 hour of its ETA and no contact has been made by the instructor in charge, it will be considered to be overdue to the extent where there is concern for its safety and well-being.

The Responsibility of the Overdue Instructor

If during the course of an activity session, the instructor realises that he/she will not be able to return to the Centre within 1 hour of the ETA, he/she will do their utmost to contact the Centre by VHF or phone to advise the duty instructor as to the nature of the delay.

The member of staff who receives the call from the overdue instructor must pass the information on to the duty instructor or other full-time member of instructional staff immediately and the ETA board should be adjusted accordingly.

The duty instructor or full-time member of instructional staff will ensure appropriate measures are put in place to counter undue concerns and to monitor the overdue group’s progress. (Appropriate measures include informing other staff – kitchen; stores; instructional and visiting staff – that the group will be late, but are in no difficulty).

Responsibility of TNOC staff when a group is deemed to be ‘Overdue’ and the accompanying instructor has not contacted the centre.

If a group has not returned within 1 hour of the ETA, and the accompanying member of instructional staff has not made contact, the duty instructor isrequired to enact the following procedure.

Procedure:

  1. Make every effort to contact the overdue instructor by VHF radio system and by phone. If contact is made, the overdue instructor will inform the duty instructor carrying out the procedure as to the nature of the delay and as to whether assistance is required.
  2. If “Spot” EPIRB is carried then the duty instructor should check the mail to see if there is a message.
  3. If contact cannot be made with the overdue instructor, the duty instructor should contact a full time member of staffand the centre manager.
  4. If neither can be contacted immediately, the duty instructor should make a final attempt to contact the overdue instructor. If unsuccessful, and if it is a full 1½ hours after the agreed ETA, the member of staff should call the appropriate emergency service and advise them of the situation including:
  5. Numbers
  6. Venue / planned route
  7. Time overdue
  8. Activity
  9. Staff mobile numbers
  10. If possible the centre should muster a group of appropriately trained and competent staff to check the route / venue used.
  11. Once the emergency service has been called out, the member of staff who has initiated the call-out should continue to try to contact the overdue instructor and duty full time member of staff/ Centre manager and full-time members of the instructional staff.

However, in the event that there is extremely adverse weather conditions prevailing, it shall be at the discretion of the duty manager / centre manager or any full time member of instructional staff to call out the appropriate emergency service at any time

NOTE:

i.Given the implications of the Overdue Return Protocol, it is essential that instructional staff who realise that they will be delayed due to unforeseen yet benign circumstance, make every effort to contact the Centre to indicate the nature of the delay thereby ensuring that the emergency services are not unnecessarily called out.

ii.At the end of the working day it is the responsibility of each instructor to delete his/her entry from the ETA Board in the Instructors’ Office.

iii.At the end of the working day it is the responsibility of the lead and duty instructor (or instructor standing in for the lead instructor) to check the ETA Board in the Instructors’ Office to determine that all groups are accounted for.

iv.If any group is unaccounted for, it is the lead / duty instructor’s responsibility to try to contact the instructor concerned and failing that, to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to initiate the Overdue Return Protocol if the group has not returned within 1 hour of their ETA.

Updated 23/09/2018 / 6. Overdue Return Protocol V.2

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