How does Lone Worker Protection operate in the US healthcare system?

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Hi There,

I am a business consultant working in London. In the UK there are a large number of health care professionals who work alone in the community - for example, community nurses, midwives, health visitors etc. These workers are at risk from verbal or physical abuse by their patients. Various systems exist to allow these workers to call for immediate help, by using a cell phone or other wireless device connected to a central control center and to the police. In the UK these systems are called "lone worker protection" systems.

How does "lone worker protection" operate in North America? Does the same need arise? Are there systems on the market which offer a lone worker protection service? Do you know who provides these?

Many thanks for your help.

UKresearcher.

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Specializes in ER, Infusion therapy, Oncology.

As far as I know there is no system available for healthcare workers specifically. The 911 sysytem is available to everyone. It goes through a dispatcher that sends the request to whichever emergency you have (fire, police, ect..).

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OK thanks. In the UK we have a similar service using the emergency number "999".

The difference with Lone Worker Protection is that the lone worker can usually pre-set an amber alert state before going into a risky location. If the amber alert is not cancelled by the lone worker within a specified time limit, then a red alert is triggered automatically at the control center and the Police could then be called. This frees the lone worker from having to make the 999 call themselves (eg they might be unconscious after a fall or an assault etc)

Also LWP systems can provide location tracking using GPS or similar technologies. So the control center knows where the person is when an alarm goes off and can direct the Police accordingly.

Is there anything similar to this in North America?

Thanks!

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I wish. Sounds like a great system :)

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Specializes in Home Care, Hospice, OB.

nothing formal that i am aware of, and have been doing home visits alone for a long time. the informal method usually employed, at least in home care, is leaving a co-worker or supervisor a visit list, and calling to check in before and after "risky" visits...and having 911 on speed dial!:nurse:

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Interesting. I'm wondering why this stuff does not seem to be available in the US. You guys are usually way ahead when it comes to technology!

Here are some example lone worker devices:

http://www.argylltelecom.com/devices/devices.html

http://www.connexion2.com

and example people location services:

http://www.trackaphone.com/locator/products_locator.jsp

Would this stuff be useful for healthcare lone workers in the US?

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Sounds like a really neat idea and yes I'm sure it could be very useful here in the United States as there are some pretty remote areas that nurses are required to visit. However, the bottom line as always, is money. Who is going to pay for this type of service?

Well you know that hospitals and companies that don't want to provide decent nurse ratio's or try to get by with skeletal supplies aren't going to want to pony up the money for NURSE safety. I'm sure that they don't feel that the ratio of situations where a nurse may be placed in a dangerous situation warrents a system targeted at protecting those nurses. I'm pretty sure they'll quote some sort of statistic that shows that 911 is ample protection, thus saving themselves any extra expense.

The only other consumer would be to the nurses themselves and while a few might consider the expense worth it, I'm pretty sure that the majority of nurses are not going to want to see anymore of their hard earned money leave their already not so ample bank accounts.

It's one of those things where yes I can see the value in it, but no I'm spending MY money on it. $17.50 an hour only goes so far. Guess I'll be relying on 911.

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Specializes in Home Care, Hospice, OB.
sounds like a really neat idea and yes i'm sure it could be very useful here in the united states as there are some pretty remote areas that nurses are required to visit. however, the bottom line as always, is money. who is going to pay for this type of service?

well you know that hospitals and companies that don't want to provide decent nurse ratio's or try to get by with skeletal supplies aren't going to want to pony up the money for nurse safety. i'm sure that they don't feel that the ratio of situations where a nurse may be placed in a dangerous situation warrents a system targeted at protecting those nurses. i'm pretty sure they'll quote some sort of statistic that shows that 911 is ample protection, thus saving themselves any extra expense.

the only other consumer would be to the nurses themselves and while a few might consider the expense worth it, i'm pretty sure that the majority of nurses are not going to want to see anymore of their hard earned money leave their already not so ample bank accounts.

it's one of those things where yes i can see the value in it, but no i'm spending my money on it. $17.50 on hour only goes so far. guess i'll be relying on 911.

have to agree:nurse:

we'd be told it was not needed..and besides, who ever heard of unsafe areas in america???:rolleyes:

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Over here there is a health and safety law which requires all employers to provide a safe working environment for their employees. Maybe this is different in the US so lone working is not such an issue?

Having said that, only 3.5% of uk nurses are currently benefitting from LWP - because in general the local hospital controls its own budget and does not want to pay up for this extra service.

So, the Royal College of Nursing is campaigning for LWP systems and better risk management. See

http://www.rcn.org.uk/search?queries_search_query=lone+worker

Thanks for your comments - really useful.

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