Case Studies

Lone worker protection

by Mark Rowe

The charity Ireland, Niamh (the Northern Ireland Association for Mental Health), has taken a lone worker protection product for their support workers. With a smartphone safety application, Niamh’s staff can discreetly call for help in an emergency.

Niamh offers community-based support to people who have had mental illness. The charity already has risk policies, procedures and training for practicing safe lone workers, but equipping staff with a mobile-based means of raising an alarm was agreed as necessary too.

The charity opted for Guardian24’s smartphone app which can be installed on employees’ Android-operated mobile phones. The application allows users to raise an alarm, linking them with controllers at Guardian24’s Alarm Receiving Centre.

The software comes with a ‘check in/check out’ function, letting lone workers log in and out of daily tasks, leaving details of their location and the expected duration. If an activity overruns, Guardian24 will automatically call the worker to verify their safety. If the lone worker cannot be reached, a nominated respondent will be notified informing them of the overrun.

Guardian24’s service is accredited to industry standards including British Standards 8484:2011, BS 5979 (Category II) and ‘Secured by Design’. Having these certifications enable Guardian24 to request a priority ‘level one’ response from local police.

Vincent Lavery – Head of Corporate Services at Niamh said: “Niamh have a robust procurement process with a critical element being quality and assurance. BS 8484 meets this and therefore enables us to demonstrate not only quality but also a value for money solution. Within the social care sector this is critical. As a result of using Guardian24’s technology, there is a greater degree of confidence amongst Lone Workers plus a realisation that as a responsible employer we place their safety squarely front and centre.”

“Staff have embraced this and have all stated they find it an excellent piece of technology to give further assurance. Staff buy-in is evident when running usage reports as we are able to see instantly that they are now using Guardian24 to log every lone worker visit. With Guardian24’s ARC response being a part of the service this has provided staff with reassurance that in the event of an emergency somebody will be listening live within seconds.”

Guardian24’s Marketing Director, Will Murray added: “Guardian24 has vast experience working to protect thousands of support and social workers. We understand that the threats they face on a daily basis can be frightening and we take each and every one of those worker’s safety incredibly seriously. Our mobile phone application has been developed with ease of use in mind to ensure help can be summoned fast in the event of an incident.”

Visit www.guardian24.co.uk.

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