Section 144-118-5.C - Staff Treatment of Clients5.C.1. The facility shall develop and implement written policies and procedures that prohibit mistreatment, neglect or abuse of the client. Policies must ensure that: a. Mistreatment, neglect, or abuse of clients in any form is prohibited;b. Use of all forms of restraint is prohibited, except when absolutely necessary to prevent a client from seriously injuring himself or others;c. Restraint is never employed as a punishment, for the convenience of staff, or as a substitute for programs, and restraint may be applied only after other less restrictive means of controlling behavior have been tried and have failed; andd. Documentation of the failure of alternative techniques must be included in the client's records and be available for inspection.5.C.2. The facility must prohibit the employment of individuals with a conviction or prior employment history of child or client abuse, conviction for animal abuse, neglect or mistreatment; a. A written policy must be developed to outline the facility's hiring procedures;b. Results of reference checks must be placed in a personnel folder at the time of employment. 5.C.3. All allegations must be reported immediately to:a. The administrator and/or his/her designee, and followed up in writing within twenty-four (24) hours after the initial report of the incident;c. The Department, Medical Facilities Branch of the Division of Licensing and Regulatory Services. Allegations concerning adults with mental retardation must be reported to the Regional Management Team of the Office of Adults with Cognitive Physical Disabilities Services through their reportable events process.
5.C.4. The facility shall ensure that a thorough investigation of each alleged violation is completed and must be documented and the facility must prohibit the person alleged to have perpetrated the abuse, mistreatment or neglect from providing direct services to any client during the period of preliminary investigation.5.C.5. The results of all investigations must be reported to the administrator within five (5) working days of the incident. A copy of this report will be sent to appropriate State agencies and made available to State agencies upon request. 5.C.6. The administrator shall be responsible to inform the legal guardian of the client of the results of the investigation. 10-144 C.M.R. ch. 118, § 5.C