Reliance High-Tech is reminding UK public sector and not-for-profit organisations that they have until April 30, 2017 to sign up or renew a contract for its Reliance Protect lone worker safety service package via an NHS Framework Agreement.
That agreement, begun in 2009, was renewed in 2013 to cover the NHS and wider public sector bodies.
From April 30, public sector organisations will not be able to take out any new contracts via this Framework for lone worker services. Signing a contract with Reliance Protect before the deadline can keep a package going until 2021. Reliance Protect says it supports upwards of 40,000 users on contracts through to 2021. Reliance Protect reports that it has 520 public sector contracts for lone worker protection services; 230 held with NHS trusts, besides local government, social housing, charities, education and probation services and central government agencies.
Chris Allcard, Head of Lone Worker Services at Reliance High-Tech, said: “Despite increasing costs, we have bucked industry trends and maintained our 2013 prices over the four years of the current framework. Aware of the financial pressures facing the public sector, our intention is to keep the current prices fixed for all customers under the NHS Framework Agreement, including organisations who sign new contracts before the 30 April 2017 deadline.
“We will continue to upgrade the service as new technologies come on stream. We are making major investments in staffing levels and systems support, including a new online customer portal with far greater functionality, features and benefits. Reflecting changing user needs, we’ve strengthened the service over the four years, by adding flexibility around sharing devices to cater for a more mobile and flexible workforce, along with improved monthly reporting to enhance insights into usage patterns.
“Other new features include a roaming sim card service option for staff in remote areas where mobile phone coverage may be weak, plus a new welfare check system to give staff and managers additional reassurance. What’s more, the team manager and train-the-trainer courses we’ve developed have been extremely popular.”
Since 2013 more than 33,000 red alerts have been handled by Reliance Protect for NHS Framework customers. Users have logged more than 3.4m amber alerts, to provide notifications of potentially vulnerable situations including details of locations due to be visited, the nature of tasks to be performed and risks identified. The average number of amber alerts per device has risen from six to eight per month over the last 18 months, the firm says, suggesting that the devices are being adopted as part of the daily routine of working safely.
In the same period, Reliance Protect has handled 12,500 requests from users and managers, while almost 2,000 lost, stolen or damaged devices have been replaced free. More than 33,000 people have been trained in more than 4,300 user training sessions. Mmre than 3,400 devices have been redeployed to new staff. Visit www.relianceprotect.co.uk.
