Personal safety in community working

A CPNA guide for practitioners, managers and organisations

There is a growing movement in the call for a more systematic approach to the safety of staff who work in the community. Whilst employees have no legal right to require that workplace violence be eradicated, they do have the right to expect it to be minimised and contained within acceptable levels.
CPNA, therefore, recommends that staff safety is promoted in three clear spheres of responsibility: at the organisational level, the managerial level and at the individual practitioner level.

Organisations Should
Through consultation, develop a safety policy for community staff make positive reporting of incidents of violence mandatory collect, process and analyse information collected on such incidents provide the opportunity for all staff to receive training in the skills of anger management and breakaway techniques by qualified trainers.
Explore staff’s needs for communication and general safety, such as mobile phones and 2 way radios, personal alarms, first aid and fire extinguishing equipment
Identify clear procedures for action in severe weather conditions, care servicing and insurance requirements
Provide a confidential counselling service for all staff

Managers Should
Take the safety of staff seriously
Ensure that staff induction and orientation procedures are effective
Ensure that staff safety is always at the top of the agenda
Encourage positive reporting of incidents of violence
Know where their staff are, what they are doing and who they are seeing
Ensure that their staff have received training in the skills of anger management and de-escalation of violence
Ensure that emergency procedures are in place

Practitioners Should
Take their and other members of staff safety seriously
Record all incidents of violence
Learn to change a tyre and other basic skills
Be a member of a motor breakdown service
Ensure that potential hazards are clearly identified on files and casenotes
Be sure that colleagues know where they are going, who they are going to see and the likely time of return
Be able to share anxiety or discomfort with colleagues when in certain situations.

A recommended reading and study list can be found below

Recommended Reading

Community Psychiatric Nurses’ Association (1992) Clinical Practice Issues for CPNs (Volume 2) CPNA Publications, London.
Persaud T (1985) Health and Safety in the Community. Community Psychiatric Nursing Journal, Volume 5, 5. Pp 13-14. London
Whitfield W & Shelley P (1991) Violence and the CPN. Community Psychiatric Nursing Journal, Volume 11, 1. Pp 12-17, London
Health and Safety Executive (1989) Violence to Staff. HSE, London
Poyner B and Warne C (1986) Violence to Staff: A Basis for Assessment and Prevention. HSE, London
DHSS (1988) Violence to Staff: Report of the DHSS Advisory Committee on Violence to Staff. HMSO, London
Woods M and Whitehead J (1993) Working Alone: Surviving and Thriving. Pitman, London
MSF Health and Safety Office (1993) Prevention of Violence at Work: An MSF Guide with Model Agreement and Violence at Work Questionnaire. MSF, London
Bibby P (1995) Personal Safety for Health Care Worker. Arena, London
Wykes T (Ed.) (1994) Violence and Health