PPE, UNIFORMS & STAFF WEARABLES Safety Systems for Staff
Allan Aikman, of Pinpoint, details how personal staff alarms are creating safer spaces for care home workers.
Personal safety alarms minimise the risk of violence toward care workers, increasing workplace morale, employee satisfaction and productivity.
As data reveals three in ten care workers in the UK have been physically attacked by patients at work, it is becoming increasingly common for care home environments to provide personal staff alarms to employees.
Connecting to the building’s wider security network, these discreet, wearable devices afford carers reassurance of their safety at work through a reduction of violent incidents and hostile behaviour.
PERSONAL ALARMS FOR CARE WORKERS
Personal staff alarms operate through rapid communication with a range of display units.
In the case of Pinpoint’s award-winning safety systems, once triggered, a personal alarm (PIT) emits signals to communication devices located in the care home or unit, relaying vital information such as the exact location and nature of the call to the response team. This process allows responders to swiſtly attend the scene and intervene, preventing a potentially aggressive situation from further escalation or providing additional help to a vulnerable patient. Consequently, the risk of abuse is lessened, and greater resource is made available to support the resident in question.
“Three in ten care workers in the UK have been physically attacked by patients at work.”
The lightweight, yet highly robust personal alarm device can be found clipped to the wearer’s uniform or concealed within an ID badge holder for easy access should an incident take place. And with two call levels, assistance and emergency, staff can summon help proportionate to the situation with the simple press of a button. The rapidity and ease with which such alarms can be activated are critical in care settings, as aggressive behaviour can escalate suddenly. The ability to trigger the alarm system swiſtly and discreetly is a significant development in the safety of care home environments.
CREATING SAFER CARE SPACES
For care workers, such technology is truly transformative. Attacks on care staff by patients are not uncommon, with a reported 85% of carers being subject to a physical assault in a period of 12 months.
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Such attacks are oſten not deliberate or intentional, but rather a result of the patient’s vulnerable condition. However, for the employees the threat of abuse remains, resulting in higher rates of anxiety and stress, low job satisfaction, increased absenteeism due to injury and poor workplace morale. Inevitably, productivity and quality of care are also impacted by this unsettled environment.
The rise in the use of wearable alarms affords workers confidence to carry out their daily duties without the risk of harm. With immediate access to a high-performing alarm, staff are assured that they can instantly summon support when needed and prevent a hostile situation from escalating.
The act of carrying a personal alarm also instils care workers with greater autonomy over their safety, thereby building a stronger sense of security in the workplace, reducing stress levels, and creating a much safer, peaceful place of work.
The development of personal staff safety systems has facilitated greater levels of protection for care workers, increasing their sense of wellbeing and overall job satisfaction. In a sector which regularly reports high turnover figures, advanced wearable safety devices are key to retaining staff and building a committed care workforce.
www.pinpoint.ltd.uk www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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