Lone worker protection for Community Staff

Argyll Telecom supports community staff with CommuniCare lone worker safety monitoring.

The areas of Scarborough Borough and Ryedale District Council, part of the newly formed North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust (PCT), are using Argyll Telecom's sophisticated CommuniCare lone worker monitoring solution to help safeguard the health and safety of its 'workers in the field'.

Around 240 Community Staff are utilising the service, which monitors their safety 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.

The Community Staff, which include district nurses and health visitors often have to attend to patients in deprived areas who at times have complex needs caused by learning difficulties, mental health, drug and alcohol misuse and abusive relationships.

As its Community Staff are frequently faced with challenging situations, and the need to go out into the community at irregular hours, the PCT wanted to ensure duty of care to its lone workers by putting a safety system in place.

After investigating a range of safety systems, the PCT selected Argyll Telecom's CommuniCare monitoring solution.

Now lone workers have the means to summon assistance should they find themselves in a potentially abusive situation.

Through Argyll's integrated control room the PCT manages and monitors its Community Staff locations, time at risk and provide them with an effective duress facility 24/7.

Should a member of staff experience a potentially hazardous situation, they are a single button-press away from quickly and discreetly summoning assistance.

Using a pre-configured button on their mobile phone they can issue a duress signal, which instantly alerts Argyll's 24/7 manned control room and simultaneously opens a voice channel enabling Operators to listen in.

Trained operators then put into effect an agreed incident management procedure, and if required, use existing links with the police to ensure a swift response.

Sophisticated voice recording ensures that every incident is captured and can be produced as evidence if required.

"Argyll Telecom's CommuniCare service has proven to be a reliable and cost effective means of support for our mobile workforce", says Jan Doe, locality manager at North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust (PCT).

"Our Community Staff are given that extra degree of confidence when entering a potentially dangerous or volatile situation".

Over 15,000 users successfully operate CommuniCare 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.

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