At Doncaster & Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, community midwives are using a lone worker protection product.
Initially supplied to 15 physiotherapists, Argyll’s CommuniCare service has now been extended to 165 units and is soon to be rolled out to the estates department and facilities staff.
Ian Soulsby, Heath & Safety Manager at Doncaster & Bassetlaw, said: "The need for lone worker support was identified by our Physiotherapy Department. We arranged for a number of companies to give us presentations and the physiotherapists felt most comfortable with the CommuniCare service.” The CommuniCare service enables lone workers to summon assistance from a mobile phone or specialist device if they find themselves in a potentially hazardous situation. The system is monitored by a control room through which the trust manages and monitors the locations of its physiotherapists and community midwives.
A lone worker knows he or she is a button press away from discreetly summoning assistance should they feel at risk. Using a pre-configured button on their mobile phone, they can issue a duress signal, which alerts Argyll’s control centre and simultaneously opens a voice channel so operators can listen in. When an alert is received, operators put into effect an agreed incident management procedure, and if required, use existing links with the police to ensure a swift response. Every incident is captured and can be produced as evidence if required.
What they say
"The major benefits from our trial of CommuniCare was its ease of use and ability to make staff feel safer knowing that someone was there if needed", added Ian Soulsby. "We don’t want our staff to be attacked or put in any kind of danger which is why we are rolling out a further 150 CommuniCare systems to our most vulnerable staff members".
Argyll is providing Doncaster & Bassetlaw Hospital NHS FoundationTrust with a total solutions package that includes CommuniCare, operator response, tracking, training, configuration with the mobile network and ongoing support.
Argyll reports that more than 17,000 users operate the firm’s lone worker solutions across the UK in a diverse range of organisations that includes the NHS, charities, local authorities, housing associations and commercial organisations. The service is suitable for anyone working remotely from their office base and facing potential safety risks during the course of their normal working day. It enables employers to meet the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, which specifies that employers must identify potential hazards, assess the risks involved and put measures in place to avoid or control the risks associated with lone workers. Argyll adds that it works with a number of high profile organisations including mobile operators and device manufacturers.
