A Safer Place Employee Checklist Combating Violence Against Social Care Staff Department of Health
	Violence, threats and abuse to staff are unacceptable. This includes sexual and racial harassment, and threats to family and property. Violence and abuse are NOT part of the job. Managing violence, threats and abuse is the responsibility of both the employer and employee. Organisations, managers, employees and service users working together provide the best means to safer practice. Your EMPLOYER has the primary responsibility It includes providing you with: a statement of the organisation's policy that clearly sets out a code of practice that fits your job and where you work clear assessments of the risk to you from the individuals, families and groups you work with clear procedures about what to do when you think there is a risk, what to do after an incident, and what follow-up there will be training that fits your job, including what responsibilities you have towards colleagues and to service users a working environment that maximises your safety support in dealing with your concerns about threats, abuse and violence procedures for making sure precautions are working and can be reviewed easily available support after an incident that fits what you and others who were involved need to recover from the experience. The Task Force has provided a Self-audit Tool for employers that you can find on our website at www.doh.gov.uk/violencetask force. It provides a checklist for employers on their policies and includes procedures for safe working. But you have responsibilities too Familiarise yourself with Your organisation's procedures including those for when you are working away from your base or with colleagues from other organisations what triggers violence and abuse, so that you are prepared to cope with violence and abuse that may occur in your job: your employer should have told you about this the procedures for raising any concerns you have with colleagues and managers: your employer should have these procedures. Be prepared when you think there is a risk, to discuss your concerns with colleagues and managers to gather as much information as possible about threatening service users and share it with colleagues and managers to do training that promotes safer practice. Use your employer's risk assessment procedures and keep re-assessing the risk of violence by asking questions such as: is there a history of violence? how might the service user/s interpret what you are doing, eg is the service user frightened, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol? are you limiting the choice of the service user/s, or removing or restricting their freedom or removing their children? are you saying 'no' to something they want to do or have that they think will make a big difference to them? are you sharing information about service users and carers with colleagues to help keep them safe? are you recording thoroughly what the assessment is and the plan for managing the risks? are you reviewing and regularly re-assessing the risks with your manager? Plan what you and others will do. The plan should: result from discussions with your managers and colleagues, including those outside your organisation where they are, or may become, involved include, whenever possible, service users and carers in the planning have a strategy for coping with an incident where there is a known risk, covering for example: - your organisation's contact arrangements - a safe place to meet - who to involve - ways of responding to violence, particularly the response to physical contact and what you think is a safe distance - any equipment you may need (mobile phone/attack alarm) - an exit strategy for you and others who may be at risk - recognise that safe practice is good for workers and for service users. Be prepared for the rare, unpredictable and unexpected incident Your employer should have procedures, reliable ways of implementing them, and of making any changes necessary. Your employer should tell you about them and you should familiarise yourself with these procedures and remind yourself of them from time to time. Preparation is never wasted. Ways to reduce risk include: managers who take responsibility at all times to provide easy access to adequate technology (alarms, panic buttons etc), coupled with the necessary procedures to adopt if the alarm is sounded workers who are skilled in their work and have a confident, calm, professional approach that demonstrates understanding and respect service users and carers who are: - well informed and given information that is jargon-free - respected for their experience, expertise, history and culture - involved in planning safe practice, environments and training good, detailed records and ensuring that colleagues (within and outside your organisation) are kept aware of incidents and risks - think about colleagues who will follow on from you knowing signs that indicate a service user may become violent, such as shouting, agitation, confusion, signs of alcohol or drug abuse, and knowing ways that might reduce their anxiety, distress or anger workers who know the procedures and how to use them when a situation gets out of control, including finding a way to leave reviewing incidents, re-planning for the future systems to check that learning from incidents is used support that staff feel confident to use. After an incident What your organisation should do It should: put the procedures into action and provide immediate support for you take responsibility for supporting anyone else involved discuss with you: - the sort of support you need to recover from the incident (we all differ in our reactions to incidents and so does the support) - who else, if anyone, needs to be informed to keep them safe - your experience, and that of others involved including service users and carers, of the way the procedures worked and what might need to be changed - the lessons for you, your colleagues, the organisation, - and any other organisations involved - what will be done and how progress will be checked re-assess and make any changes needed in procedures and support provided to reduce violence and abuse. What you should do You should: be prepared: be familiar with and use the organisation's procedures know where you can get immediate support for yourself. It is your employer's responsibility to get support for others involved don't be surprised if your reactions or other people's are different from what you expected, and be tolerant of your own and others' immediate reactions take care of yourself and contact people who will offer the support you need as soon as possible, record details of the perpetrator/s and the events and expect debriefing sessions for yourself and the perpetrator/s record and report the incident to your employer remember nothing will change for the better unless incidents are reported. Safe practice is part of good practice f you want to know more about our report, and the evidence we have used to produce this checklist, please ask your employer or see our website at www.doh.gov.uk/violencetaskforce.
	The Task Force defines violence to workers as: 'Incidents where persons are abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work, involving an explicit or implicit challenge to their safety, well-being or health. This definition is taken to include verbal abuse or threat, threatening behaviour, any assault (and any apprehension of unlawful violence), and serious or persistent harassment, including racial or sexual harassment, and extends from what may seem to be minor incidents to serious assault and murder, and threats against the worker's family.' www.children.uk.co

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