Workplace violence against nurses and other frontline caregivers is a growing and global problem. But how can we better protect vulnerable Healthcare workers? And how can we do it while still facilitating essential face-to-face contact?
Physical and verbal abuse against caregivers are so widespread they have been described as "characteristic hazards faced by all members of the nursing profession".1 That’s why a personal alarm system is essential in today’s Healthcare sector.
Ascom Staff Protect solutions enable fast, accurate and coordinated responses to personal safety alerts. Such alarm notifications can even be sent should a member of staff lose consciousness or otherwise be unable to transmit an alert. Ascom Staff Protect—looking after the caregivers.
References
1. Stephen, H. (1998). Yellow card for violent patients, Nursing Standard, 12, 52, Sep., 14
The consequences of workplace violence in the Healthcare sector are enormous. Staff have been killed and seriously injured. Security costs strain already tight budgets. Workplaces become even more stressful—which can lead to an increased risk of medication errors.4 Staff turnover increases. Patient care can be compromised.
But lots can be done to minimize risks. An Ascom Staff Protect solution, lets on-the-go workers send different types of alerts to pre-assigned colleagues and/or emergency services. A discreet ‘soft’ alert quietly informs colleagues of a potentially threatening situation. While other alerts can send location data, and may offer a ‘push-to-talk’ function that lets responders listen in to the phone sending the alarm.
References:
1. American Nurses Association. (2014). American Nurses Association Health Risk Appraisal (HRA): Preliminary Findings October 2013 – October 2014. [online] Available at: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3826.pdf [Accessed 7 September 2016
2. Medium. (2015). Urgent Care: Protecting Nurses Against Workplace Violence — Pacific Standard. [online] Available at: https://psmag.com/urgent-care-protecting-nurses-against-workplace-violence-aaeffd399541#.rszvhv1qz [Accessed 16 May 2016]
3. Stanko, A. Elizabeth. Knowledge about the impact of violence at work in the health sector, in Cooper, L. Carey & Swenson, Naomi. Workplace violence in the health sector: state of the art. [online] Available at: http://who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/activities/workplace/WVstateart.pdf?ua=1&ua=1 [Accessed 7 September 2016]
4. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (2015). Workplace Violence in Healthcare: Understanding the Challenge. [online] Available at: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3826.pdf [Accessed 15 September 2016]
Building and Safety Manager, PUC Basel
Put simply, an Ascom Staff Protect solution consists of three main elements: handsets, wireless infrastructure, Ascom Unite software. Typically, a staff member presses an alarm button on a mobile handset (‘man-down’ and ‘no movement’ functions automatically send alerts). Alerts travel via wireless infrastructure, and are then processed by Ascom Unite.
This software routes the alerts according to predefined plans, ensuring the right people receive the alarms in the right order. The location of the alert-issuing device can be plotted using RTLS, base stations, and Ascom location beacons. Positions and other key data can also be graphically shown on PC screens with the Alarm Management Client.
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