If an incident occurs, lone workers should be encouraged and supported to report all physical and non-physical assaults to the LSMS by completing the organisation’s incident reporting form as soon as possible.
This will enable the LSMS to conduct a thorough investigation and to ensure that all appropriate cases of physical assault are reported to the police for any appropriate action to be taken.
⁷www.nhsstaffsurveys.com/Page/1085/Latest-Results/NHS-Staff-Survey-Results/
Employers should have measures in place to support any member of staff who has been subject to an abusive or violent incident, including a debrief following the incident and a list of relevant contacts, such as the LSMS.
The organisation’s lone working policy should provide information about what support is available and relevant contact details for additional forms of support. This might include counselling services, post-trauma support, peer support, psychological support and access to a professional or trade union representative.
If they have been physically assaulted, the lone worker will also need to undergo a physical assessment and receive treatment for any injuries to ensure they are well enough to return to work.
Following an incident or threat in a lone working situation, the LSMS should put effective arrangements in place to ensure that incidents and risks are reported and dealt with in accordance with the NHS (SMS) national frameworks for tackling violence and security management work.
LSMSs should conduct an investigation for all incidents to establish the causes and whether any further action needs to be taken. This action might be aimed at deterrence, prevention, detection or creating a pro-security culture within the organisation.
For incidents where violence is not a factor – such as theft or criminal damage – healthcare organisations should ensure that staff report these to the police and through their local incident reporting systems.
⁸dentallawandethics.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/DH-Secretary-of-State-Directions-on-work-to-tackle-violence-against-staff-and-professionals.pdf ⁹aegisprotectiveservices.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Directions-to-NHS-bodies-on-security-management-measures-2004.pdf
Post-incident review will enable all lessons to be learned and the risk of future incidents minimised. The key to post-incident review, risk assessment and follow-up action is an understanding of how and why incidents occur in lone working situations and being able to learn from that understanding.
In order to achieve this, the following factors should be considered:
LSMSs should ensure that the organisation’s lone working policies and procedures are reviewed and updated after an incident that exposes a fundamental weakness or failure. If lone worker devices are not currently being used, introducing them will provide a means to protect employees in the event of an incident. Directly connected to a 24/7/365 Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC), the device provides a two-way audio connection between the member of staff and a Controller who has been expertly trained to handle emergency situations. The Controller will monitor the situation and initiate a response which may be to inform an escalation contact or the emergency services. A lone worker app can also be used to support NHS staff working alone. For example, the Peoplesafe Pro smartphone application is available on iOS and Android, transforming any smartphone into a personal safety device.
