Personal Safety and Lone Working

Lone Working is an area of work that can cause workers considerable stress and anxiety. This is particularly the case when workers have not considered the potential of the situation in a rational way. This area can also be problematic when workers do not receive appropriate or sufficient training and guidance.

This one day course aims to provide participants with understanding of what would be considered safe working practices in this context. The course will directly draw on the policies and procedures of the organisation.

The post course certificate will provide NVQ links

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this course participants should understand:

• What constitutes Lone Working
• The potential risks are involved in Lone Working
• The purpose of a Lone Working policy
• The objectives of a Lone Working policy
• The need for clarity regarding the responsibilities of the Employer and those of the individual worker
• The need to adopt safe working practices and follow procedures
• How the Health & Safety at Work Act relates to Lone Working
• How the maintenance of Boundaries impacts on Lone Working
• How professional guidelines can be preventative-helping to avoid complex and fragile relationships
• The importance of being risk aware
• How Risk Assessment applies to Lone Working
• How Risk Management applies to Lone Working
• The need to recognise the limitations that apply to Lone Working
• The resources that can be drawn on for support on a long term basis:
        -Supervision
        -Team work
        etc.
• The need for effective communication
• The need for effective recording
• Adopting a rational approach. Building in safety strategies e.g.
        -When not to do a lone visit
        -Being informed of a challenging history
        -Planning
• How to avoid taking excessive risk in emergency situations-being cautious
• How to ‘tune in’ to warning signs of a potential crisis
• How to respond to early warning signs:
        -being ware of the environment
        -being aware of the person’s verbal clues
        -being aware of the person’s non verbal clues
• The safety precautions to take when leaving the base:
        -message boards
        -timescales
        -venue details
        etc.
• The use of the telephone
• How to diffuse a potentially explosive situation: de-escalation techniques
• How to stay safe-knowing when to withdraw
• How to get help
• The need to learn from each event

Working Methods:

• Tutor Presentations
• Role Play
• Case studies
• Handouts
• Group discussion
• Small group work
• OHP/PowerPoint

CP41/4.9