Personal Safety Policy and Procedure

PERSONAL SAFETY POLICY AND PROCEDURE

HUMAN RESOURCES POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

POLICY NUMBER 4.7

NHSR Personal Safety PolicyPage 1 of 20

Issued:Review: Oct 04

PERSONAL SAFETY POLICY AND PROCEDURE

CONTENTS:

NHSR Personal Safety PolicyPage 1 of 20

Issued:Review: Oct 04

PERSONAL SAFETY POLICY AND PROCEDUREPOLICY NUMBER: 4.7

1. INTRODUCTION

During the course of their work, members of staff may face risks to their personal safety, whether they are community staff facing the dangers of an increasingly violent society, staff dealing with patients with mental health problems, or reception staff that are often the first point of contact for service users.

This policy and procedure has been developed for NHS Rotherham (NHSR) employees and other NHS employees who work on NHSR’s managed premises. It is also recommended to NHS contractors for adoption for their own staff.

It supplements the general policy on Health and Safety and takes due account of the requirement of:

1. NHS Security Management Service (SMS) Tackling Violence against Staff campaign
2. Violence to Staff in the Health Services - Health and Safety Commission (HSC)
3. Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
4. Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974

This policy should be read in conjunction with NHSR’s SecurityPolicy, and the Policy and Procedure for theManagement of Violent and/or Abusive Individuals.

2.POLICY STATEMENT

2.1.NHSR is committed to the improvement in working lives as reflected in NHSR’s core values and priorities, which aim to improve health and the working environment for staff. NHSR places the highest priority on a safe and healthy environment for all staff and users of its premises.

2.2.NHSR policy is to adopt a proactive and systematic approach to risk management. NHSR is determined to reduce any risks to personal safety, as far as possible, and to identify and share best practice.

1. DEFINITIONS
2. In dealing with the various issues surrounding personal safety NHSR will apply the following definitions:
3. Violence

The term violence covers a wide range of incidents not all of which involve physical harm. Based on the Health and Safety Commission’s definition of work related violence NHSR defines violence as:

“Any incident where staff are abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances related to their work involving an explicit or implicit challenge to their safety, well-being or health”

Using this broad definition the range of issues will include, but not be limited to, those incidents which:

• cause major injury
• require medical assistance
• require first aid only
• involve a threat, even though no physical injury results
• involve verbal abuse e.g. intimidating and/or abusive language
• involve non-verbal abuse e.g. gestures or stalking
• involve other threatening behaviour
• Lone Working

Lone working is defined as:

“any work activity, which is specifically intended to be carried out by people regularly working on their own, or in isolation, without immediate access to other staff or team colleagues”

For staff working in an isolated situation NHSR recognises that they may not always be working alone. An isolated situation is therefore defined as a situation where:

“staff are engaged in regular or occasional work (either outdoors or indoors) where there are no other people who could reasonably be expected to come to their immediate aid or contact help on their behalf in the event of an incident or emergency”

3.1.3Types of Lone Working

Lone working can take place when people:

• Work as individuals at a fixed site but are separated from others e.g. working alone in buildings or interviewing patients alone in interview rooms.
• Work alone away from base e.g. home visiting, community nursing.
• Work outside normal working hours e.g. alone in isolated buildings or working alone in the community.
• Travel alone as part of their work e.g. travelling to meetings or travelling to patient’s homes.

Many lone workers will fall into more than one of these categories.

1. PROCEDURE

The remainder of this document sets out the procedural steps to fulfil the policy’s objectives. In order to meet the aims of reducing the risk to personal safety and improving the working environment the following methods will be adopted.

The elimination/avoidance of situations, which pose a risk to personal safety where it is reasonably practicable to do so. Avoidance will always be the preferred option where elimination is not possible.

An overriding requirement exists for all managers/team leaders to undertake and record assessments of risk to safety and health and review them at least annually or whenever there is significant change. Where this general assessment indicates a significant risk to personal safety a detailed written risk assessment (see appendix 1 and 2) will be made aiming to reduce that risk as far as reasonably practicable. Detailed assessments of significant risk should be copied to the Health and Safety Advisor.

Ensuring that appropriate trainingis available to staff in all areas that equips them to recognise risk and provides practical advice when exposed to risks to personal safety.

Encouragement of full reporting and recording of all adverse incidents relating to violence and risks to personal safety and lone working so that appropriate remedial action can be taken.

The provision of "safe systems of work" as far as is reasonably practicable without risk to health. A safe system of work is a formal procedure which results from a systematic examination of a task in order to identify all the hazards and assess the risks, and which identifies safe methods of work to ensure that the hazards are eliminated, or the remaining risks are minimised

1. ORGANISATIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
2. Chief Executive / NHSR Board
3. Oversee implementation of the Personal Safety Policy and Procedure across NHSR.
4. Oversee the review of the Policy and Procedure.
5. To this end NHSR Board has a nominated board level Director, the Director of HR, OD &CG, who has overall lead responsibility for all aspects of non clinical and non financial risk management and acts as Security Management Director (SMD).
6. Directors
7. Implementation and monitoring of the Policy within their Directorate.
8. Prioritisation and use of resources to meet identified needs from assessment of risk to personal safety.
9. Co-ordination of additional resource needs identified for report to Chief Executive / NHSR Board / Professional Executive as appropriate.
10. Managers / Team Leaders / Heads of Service
11. Carry out a general risk assessment, including detailed risk assessment where a significant risk to personal safety has been identified.
12. Implement, as far as is reasonably practicable, any control measures identified to minimise or avoid the risk to personal safety and identify to Directors additional resource requirements as necessary.
13. Monitor the effectiveness of the measures.
14. Ensure that staff attend appropriate training on personal safety issues.
15. Ensure that all incidents relating to violence and personal safety are reported in accordance with the Incident Reporting Policy and Procedure.
16. Head of Human Resources and Health and Safety Advisor
17. Provision of access to appropriate training courses including Conflict Resolution and assessment of risks to safety and health.
18. Provision of advice and guidance on suitability and sufficiency of assessment of risks to safety and health and control measures.
19. Provision of access to support services following an incident of violence or threat to personal safety.
20. Employees
21. Employees are responsible for their own health and safety, and for those affected by their actions and must:
22. Co-operate in completing risk assessments including where there is a risk to personal safety.
23. Implement and comply with control measures and safe systems of work developed by their managers/team leaders.
24. Report hazards they observe in the course of their work.
25. Attend appropriate training.
26. ASSESSMENT OF RISKS TO SAFETY AND HEALTH
27. Risk assessment is a careful examination of what could cause harm to people at work in order to assess whether or not enough precautions have been taken and whether more should be done to prevent harm. In order to anticipate staff at potential risk to personal safety, assessments of risks to safety and health must be carried out. It is a legal requirement that where significant risks are identified, the risk assessment must be in writing.
28. NHSR will continue to develop procedures and guidance for assessment, both general and specific, based around the following process:

a)Identify the hazard and decide who might be harmed, and how. This may include, for example, but not exclusively the following staff groups:

- staff working in services where patients have known behavioural problems

- staff working in community settings

- staff working in reception areas

- staff working in isolated situations/lone workers

- staff responsible for cash handling

b)Evaluate the risks arising from the hazards and decide whether existing precautions are adequate or whether more should be done. In doing this managers/team leaders will take into account the recommendations of the Health Services Advisory Committee in the report "Violence to Staff in the Health Services" (see paragraph 7).

c)Keep a written record of significant findings (see appendices). Assessments need to be suitable and sufficient, and should show that the precautions are reasonable, given the nature of the risk and that a proper check was carried out.

d)Review the assessment from time to time, i.e. at least annually or on change, and revise if necessary.

6.3In order to facilitate risk assessments sample documentation is contained in appendices and is supported by general guidance on assessing risks to safety and health contained in NHSRPolicies and Procedures.

1. RECOMMENDATIONS TO REDUCE THE RISKS OF VIOLENCE AND TO PERSONAL SAFETY

In a report concerning violence towards staff in the health services, the Health Services Advisory Committee of the Health and Safety Commission (HSAC) made a number of recommendations to reduce the risks to personal safety.

In completing risk assessments, managers and directors should use the recommendations as a benchmark against which action will be taken where hazards are identified. In many cases, it will be within the scope of managers and directors to implement appropriate measures.

Where there are significant resource implications, beyond the remit of Director’s overall budgetary allocation or where it is not possible to use NHSR’s Operational Capital, recommendations will be made to the Professional Executive following discussion at the Corporate Risk Management Committee, unless urgent, when alternative approaches would be made as per NHSR’s Risk Management Framework.

Action will be taken where it is deemed "reasonably practicable". It should be emphasised, however, where a significant risk is identified, some form of action will be taken immediately to safeguard the staff involved. Measures should not be taken indiscriminately; it is essential to match actions to identified needs.

The HSAC recommendations are as follows and are taken into account in the sample assessments in appendices:

a)Using physical devices to offer protection e.g. personal alarms, panic buttons, two way radios. (The Royal College of Nursing also suggested installing video cameras in dangerous departments.)

b)Redesigning reception areas and waiting rooms to make them less isolated and more homely.

c)Minimising delays and telling people why they have to wait, if they do - perhaps by providing simple explanatory leaflets.

d)Providing adequate and flexible staffing levels to ensure that individuals are not isolated for long periods.

e)Providing training courses in prevention and management of violence, including self-confidence and assertiveness courses together with the traditional talk down / breakaway techniques.

f)Offering support and counselling to victims and information on the legal assistance and compensation available.

g)Improving the flow of information about and to patients (especially where changes have occurred, for instance, when new staff take over or new patients arrive, or if there has been a change in the mental or physical state of the patient, or if a history of violence is known to exist.)

h)A detailed plan should be kept within each team / staff group, of staff whereabouts during domiciliary or community visits. Information should be laid out for all staff on all high-risk areas (e.g. particular parts of the town or city) and on high-risk patients.

i)Increased liaison with police, either where violence is anticipated, or in reporting it after the event.

j)Maintaining sufficient staffing levels. Overtime and long hours should be reduced, since tired staff may be less able to cope with potential violence. More flexible appointments would make it possible to switch staff around, spreading the amount of hours worked more evenly. Extra cover should be provided for nights, weekends and shift changeovers. This will be on a "reasonably practicable" basis measured against staffing resources available and the level of risk involved.

Individuals, especially if junior, should not be isolated for long periods and backup should be readily available if an incident occurs. If the existence of a risk is established, appropriate staffing should be agreed and maintained.

k)Efficient and accurate reporting and recording of incidents in order to provide an adequate basis for the immediate response to the incident and for longer term strategic planning.

1. INFORMATION
2. NHSR will use information about the incidence relating to personal safety in order to plan measures in response to this issue. This will include:
3. Information provided on a regular basis by the Incident Reporting system reviewed by the Corporate Risk Management Committee and the Health and Safety Committee.
4. The outcome of risk assessments, which identify significant risk to personal safety and will anticipate problems to identify appropriate courses of action, provided by Line Managers to the Health & Safety Advisor.
5. Information gathering/questionnaires, regarding personal safety, carried out on a corporate basis by the HR and OD Department, e.g. staff opinion survey. Accurate and timely information will be the basis of any decisions taken and resources allocated to personal safety.
6. Information about Patients

NHSR will ensure that computer and paper-based patient information systems will include the facility for staff to be warned if the patient poses a personal safety risk. This will include:

-the warning screen on the TPP System

-all referral forms from whatever source

-the sharing of information between health, local authority and other agencies.

The sharing of such information is mandatory for NHSR employees and a duty between colleagues and agencies. Line Managers/Supervisors/Team Leaders will ensure that referral forms include such information. See also NHSR’s Policy and Procedure for the Management of violent and/or abusive individuals.

1. TRAINING

On behalf of NHSR the Head of Human Resources and Health & Safety Advisor will ensure that managers/team leaders are provided access to appropriate training courses for themselves and their staff in relation to their own personal safety needs. This will include conflict resolution and, where necessary, talk down / breakaway techniques. Attendance at such courses ismandatory for front line staff and line managers are required to monitor that all staff have attended. In addition the Head of Human Resources and Health & Safety Advisor will ensure the provision of training for managers/team leaders in risk assessment.

It should be emphasised that training is not a substitute for a comprehensive risk assessment and may only be one of a number of measures addressing personal safety.

1. MONITORING AND REVIEW
2. The occurrence of incidents related to personal safety will be monitored through the analysis and dissemination of information on the Incident Reporting system through the H&S Committee.
3. As necessary, activity under the Personal Safety Policy will be included in quarterly and/or annual HR reports to NHSR Board.

NHSR Personal Safety PolicyPage 1 of 6

Issued: November 2003Reviewed: July 2008

Next Review: July 2010

NHSR Personal Safety Policy and Procedure Appendix 1

Sample Risk Assessment - Buildings

Are the existing control measures adequate?Yes No

App 5 - 2