Just four out of 1,100 lone worker alarms being used by trust workforce

A trust which rented 1,100 lone worker alarms has found just four were in use after a year.

Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust rented the system for five years, with the contract starting in early 2021. But a year later only 51 of the units were assigned to a user, and just four were being used.

Most of the users had not completed their training and 19 had not even logged into the system to set up a profile, according to an annual health and safety report covering 2021-22.

The health and safety report said: “Unfortunately the system has yet to demonstrate value for money as the uptake within services across the trust is very poor, despite the extensive work by the health and safety team to encourage uptake.” This had included demonstrating the system at multiple meetings and trying to raise awareness.

A spokesperson from Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust said: “The lone worker system is one of the ways we ensure the safety of our staff who work alone. It has taken time to embed the new system due to the changes in working practices during the pandemic. However, in recent months we have seen the number of staff actively using the system increasing."

“There is more we are doing to ensure wider take-up and implementation, through a programme of engagement and training.”

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Source: HSJ, 9 August 2022