Measures Designed to Protect Security of Staff

Working alone. Lone workers policies and risk assessments highlight and check that it is safe for you to work alone e.g. for home visits. It may be necessary for two members of start to work together for safety reasons.

Travelling to and from work settings at unusual time of the day. There are additional risk to staff if you are working in isolated areas or a time of day where public transport is not available. Torches and alarms are available from HR for any staff member that requires them.

Handling people’s belongings. If handling people’s jewellery, cash or other valuables from one place to another it is helpful to make an inventory and both sign to say what has been left. The Care Act 2014 has introduced new power for local authorities to protect someone’s property if they are being cared for outside of the home. The local authority may remove items from a person’s house to keep them safe e.g. if they are in hospital or a care home.

Data protection legislation and confidentiality must be followed. Staff need to be aware of what information can and cannot be passed on to third parties.

Buildings All the buildings at Active have keycode entry systems (Clients may have key safes). You should ensure that the secure code to gain access is not given to anyone who has no right to it. Protecting staff from abuse e.g. from service users’ animals, relatives, or neighbours, if there is a known risk. If there are fierce animals such as dogs the law covers both control in public places and in a private place such as a person’s home.

Carrying valuables, sums of money or prescriptions and medicines. Such tasks may need to be risk assessed. In some cases where controlled drugs are involved there may be specific relevant regulations to follow.

Being security conscious is important for:

• Your safety
• The safety of the people you directly support
• The safety of colleagues
• The safety of members of the public

Risk assessments should identify security needs of individual workers, specific service users and members of the public in general. Staff have a right to be protected by their employer from known foreseeable risks.

Use to answer question 13.8a of the Care Certificate