DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
News Release issued by COI News Distribution Service on 3 May 2009
30,000 lone NHS
workers are to receive personal security alarms from today,
following a commitment made by Health Secretary Alan Johnson to
improve the safety and security of staff.
The lone worker alarm system is designed for nurses and other
healthcare staff who work in isolation from colleagues and may
need the ability to call for assistance when their personal
security is threatened.
The i750 identicom devices made by Reliance, which use Location
Based Service (LBS) technology will help locate the user and link
to a trained individual who can summon help if needed.
If a lone worker indicates they need help, the call centre will
be able listen to and record events in a way that is legally
admissible making it is easier for workers to bring cases to
prosecution where appropriate.
Health Secretary Alan Johnson said:
"No NHS staff should
have to put up with violence in the workplace, but sadly it
happens. Lone workers are particularly vulnerable and I am
determined to provide them with as much protection as we can to
enable them to carry out their valuable work knowing that they
have the support they need should their personal safety be threatened."
Ann Duffy, Community and District Nurses Association said:
"This is the best news for district nurses. We have
campaigned for the safety of nurse for some time, Alan Johnson has
delivered his pledge to us and we thank him. We have a duty of
care for the nurses who care for all of us."
Dr Peter Carter, Chief Executive & General Secretary of the
Royal
College of Nursing (RCN), said:
"Nurses and other healthcare staff who work alone will
welcome having a system to keep them safe and lone worker devices
are an important way of
reducing the risks. They must be used
alongside a well planned and
supported lone worker policy and
training for all those using them. This
way they should
increase protection to workers who are in a
vulnerable
position while doing an essential job. Trusts have
a responsibility to
keep their staff safe, so they must ensure
that all lone workers at risk
have access to these devices
quickly to support them as they go about
their work in the community."
The alarms will be rolled out from May 5 2009 and will be
initially be targeted at community workers who work with patients
and their families or associates who have a history of violence,
alcohol or drug abuse or clinical conditions which might heighten
risks to the lone worker, and those who work in areas of high
crime rates and social deprivation.
Ends
Notes to Editors:
1. For media enquires please call the
Department of Health newsdesk on 0207 210 5221.
2. For further information on the NHS security management
strategy, please visit http://www.cfsms.nhs.uk.
3. The service will be available through a framework agreement
and 30,000 subscriptions to the service will be centrally funded
for the first two years of three-year contract terms. The service
will be available to all lone workers in the NHS at competitive rates.
4. Lone working is defined as any situation or location in which
someone works without a colleague nearby; or when someone is
working out of sight or earshot of another colleague. This could
be outside of a hospital or similar environment or internally,
where staff care for patients or service users on their own. Other
descriptions commonly used include community or outreach workers.
Lone working may be a constituent part of a person's usual
job or it could occur on an infrequent basis, as and when
circumstances dictate. Lone working is not unique to any
particular groups of staff, working environment or time of day.
Estimates have suggested that there may be up to 240,000
individuals who can be classed as Lone Workers within the NHS
although these figures have been provided by Trusts bidding for
subsidised systems and are indicative.