Duress Alarm in Healthcare: A Lifeline for Carers
Duress alarms in healthcare are designed to provide a lifeline for carers who work alone on a daily basis. Duress alarms, also known as panic buttons, personal alarms, or staff duress systems, are small, discreet pendants worn around the neck or from a belt loop that can be activated to call for help in the case of an emergency.
Such situations can take many forms: the carer themselves may experience an accident or fall and require assistance; clients with mental health conditions such as dementia or Alzheimer's, can also become distressed, confused or upset, putting carers at risk of verbal and physical abuse. Sometimes, that abuse can even come from friends and family of the client being cared for.
Between 2019 and 2020, community and personal service workers in Australia were the second-highest occupation group in which serious work-related injuries were recorded. With the number of people using healthcare services only increasing (anticipated to reach 3.5 million clients by 2050 in Australia alone), a staff duress alarm for healthcare workers is a potentially invaluable asset that looks to stand the test of time.
Below, we explore some other statistics around lone worker safety and the need for duress alarms to improve personal safety for healthcare workers and their clients.
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Duress Alarm in Healthcare: A Lifeline for Carers
Although the nature of care requires workers to be with others, there can be many situations in which a carer may experience isolation or be working without supervision. Whether working in care homes, in the community or in the homes of their clients, care workers will frequently spend some or all of their workday alone.
A few examples of care-based roles whose duties also extend to lone working include:
Social workers
Paramedics
Nurses
Allied Health
Physical & mental therapists
Aged Care workers
RITH & HITH
Disability support staff
Regardless of their role, seniority or type of work, healthcare workers and staff deserve to feel safe and supported at work, so they can focus on quality of care and the physical and mental wellbeing of themselves and their clients. A personal safety device such as a duress alarm is one way to help.
Providing care for others can be extremely rewarding - but it also carries its risks. As many as 95% of healthcare workers have experienced verbal abuse or physical assault while performing their duties, not only from clients or residents but also from clients' loved ones and bystanders. While abuse or violence against a carer, or any other employee, is never acceptable, and industry-wide preventative measures are being introduced to combat these incidents, the statistics highlight a need to support the safety and wellbeing of carers who are regularly put in vulnerable positions.
Personal duress alarms (also known as staff duress systems) support carer safety by providing a quick, straightforward way to get help in case of an emergency. They offer an immediate lifeline for each carer where time may not be on their side. The best duress alarm systems, such as Tunstall's Lone Worker Monitoring system, are backed by human-staffed support teams who can investigate an incident and provide quick follow-up support to relieve or assist a carer in a precarious situation.
Related reading: Safety considerations for home care support workers
Tunstall's Lone Worker Monitoring uses a bespoke monitoring device that allows carers to check in with a dedicated contact centre. Since they can connect to a smartphone, tablet or smartwatch, carers can check in and check out at client sites, in addition to being able to trigger a duress call at any time. Our Care Consultants work around the clock to follow up on incidents and can signal for an employer or emergency services to assist, offering direct support when needed.
In the unfortunate event that a carer becomes injured before or during a visit to a client site, our Care Consultants can monitor and take action to remedy the situation. Should a carer fail to check in or check out of a scheduled client visit, our consultants will follow up with them and their employer until a resolution is achieved and the carer's safety confirmed.
Personal safety alerts can take many forms - a duress alarm is just one option. A personal safety app that you install straight onto your smartphone is another.
We’re excited to share that we’re partnering with Guardian to bring Lifestream, a new personal safety app that can be tailored for lone workers, to the market. This smartphone app can be installed using the Google Play or App Store and will supersede our existing myCareAssist and myCareAssist+ personal safety apps. Watch the 2-minute video below and learn more at our dedicated Lifestream App page.
While some carers invest in personal duress alarms, many of these devices have no support system underpinning the technology. Utilising a more comprehensive plan like the one outlined above ensures that carers can get help quickly in an emergency.
If you're interested in exploring the benefits of Tunstall's Lone Working System for your company, get in touch with Tunstall on 1800 611 528 (AU) or 0800 488 678 (NZ). Alternatively, if you're a carer working without the protection of a duress alarm system, point your organisation in the direction of this information.
Further reading: Lone Worker Safety & Personal Alarms - Complete Guide
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