Personal safety devices provided to lone workers at OUH

Personal safety devices are being rolled out to lone workers at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH) as one of the next steps of keeping NHS staff safe.

Forming part of OUH's People Plan 2022-25, the initiative supports the aim to provide a physical and psychological environment that enhances staff wellbeing.

There are over 500 lone workers at OUH across a variety of teams, including community nurses, occupational therapists, and Estates colleagues.

The devices, which have SOS alarms and GPS/wifi positioning technology, alert staff at a call centre who speak to the person concerned, assess the situation, and escalate to OUH staff as necessary – including contacting the Police if needed.

A Trust spokesperson said: "The health and safety of our staff are of paramount importance to us – whether that be on-site in our hospitals, or in the community.

"Lone workers can be vulnerable and at increased risk of physical or verbal abuse, simply because they don't have the immediate support of colleagues or security staff. However, we hope that these devices will bridge that gap and provide an extra layer of security for them when they are out in the community, or indeed in isolated areas of our hospitals.

"We have a zero tolerance to abusive and aggressive behaviour towards our staff, as demonstrated by our No Excuses campaign.

"We take the safety of our staff extremely seriously, whether that be on the wards, in patients' homes, or in individual offices. By providing lone workers with personal safety devices, we hope that our staff will feel safer, more secure, and assured that should something unfortunately go wrong that they are fully supported and protected."

Initially providing these devices to colleagues in our community midwifery teams, Home Hospice Care Team, and Crisis Assessment and Response Service (CARe), the Trust aims for all lone workers to have a device in due course.