Module 2 of 2 · 40 minutes
Lone working, and what happens afterwards
By the end of this module you will be able to
- Plan and carry out a lone visit with a working safety system
- Recognise the environmental and situational cues that precede violence
- Withdraw safely, and understand that leaving is the correct decision
- Support yourself and colleagues after an incident
Work through it
1 interactive for this module, built on the WAJD Teach engine. Nothing moves until you ask it to, and every one has a written version if you would rather read it.
Amara Most of my work is alone, in people's houses, often in the dark.
Nadia Which is the highest risk part of care, and it is the part with the least training attached to it. Employers have duties under the 1974 Act to assess and control that risk, and a lot of them discharge it with a policy nobody has read.
Amara What would a real system look like?
Nadia Four things. Somebody knows where you are and when you are due out. You can raise an alarm without being seen doing it. There is a defined response if you do not check in. And you can flag a property as higher risk.
Amara We can flag things.
Nadia Then here is the test. You flag a property, and the following week the rota comes back unchanged. What have you got?
Amara A document.
Nadia A document. A flag that does not change how a visit is staffed is a filing exercise, and workers stop using it within a month because they can see it does nothing.
Amara Are there warning signs? Or does it just happen?
Nadia It very rarely just happens. And this is the difficult part: people who are hurt usually say afterwards that they noticed something and talked themselves out of it.
Amara What should I be noticing?
Nadia Environment first. Somebody in the house you were not expecting. A door locked behind you. A dog loose that is usually shut away. And the room rearranged so you are the one furthest from the door.
Amara That last one is subtle.
Nadia It is subtle and it is deliberate when it happens. Then behaviour: pacing, clenched hands, rapid speech or a sudden silence, standing too close, blocking the doorway, not letting the conversation end.
Amara And situational?
Nadia The most reliable predictor of all. Bad news that arrived before you did. A care package cut this week. A benefits letter that morning. An eviction notice. You have walked into somebody's worst day and you are the nearest representative of the system that caused it.
Amara What do I do?
Nadia Leave. Not after the call, not after explaining. Leave, and escalate from the pavement.
Amara It feels rude, and I would feel stupid if I was wrong.
Nadia Then say something neutral. You need something from the car. That is all. And hear this clearly: nobody has ever been disciplined for leaving a house that felt wrong. Several people have been seriously hurt for staying to be polite.
Amara And afterwards?
Nadia Report it, including verbal abuse, because under reporting is exactly why the visit arrangements never change. And get a real debrief, not a corridor conversation on the way past.
Amara I would probably say I was fine.
Nadia Most people do, on the night. And then they are shaky three days later, which is a completely normal delayed reaction and not weakness.
Amara What should a manager do?
Nadia Ask more than once. A single how are you on the day gets a fine from almost everybody. The honest answer usually arrives about a week later, and only if somebody bothers to ask again.
The written material
Lone working is the highest risk part of care
Domiciliary care workers enter unfamiliar homes alone, often after dark, frequently without knowing who else is in the house. Employers have duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to assess and control that risk, and many discharge them with a policy nobody has read.
A working system has four parts: somebody knows where you are and when you are due out; you can raise an alarm without being seen to; there is a defined response if you do not check in; and there is a route to flag a property or a person as higher risk that actually changes how visits are staffed.
That last one is the test of whether the system is real. If you can flag a concern and the rota comes back unchanged the following week, you do not have a lone working system, you have a lone working document.
The cues that come before
Violence is rarely instantaneous. There are usually cues, and workers who are hurt often report afterwards that they noticed something and talked themselves out of it.
Environmental: an unexpected additional person, a door locked behind you, alcohol or drug paraphernalia, a dog that is not usually loose, weapons or tools that are out of place, a room rearranged so you are furthest from the exit.
Behavioural: pacing, clenched hands, rapid speech or sudden silence, invading your space, blocking the doorway, fixed staring, refusing to let a conversation end.
Situational: they were expecting somebody else, a care package has just been reduced, a relative has been drinking, a benefits or eviction letter has arrived that morning. Bad news arriving before you did is one of the most reliable predictors there is.
Leaving, and afterwards
If you feel unsafe, leave. Not once you have finished the call, not once you have explained yourself. Leave, and escalate from the pavement.
You do not need to be certain, and you do not need to justify it to anybody in the moment. Say something neutral, such as needing to fetch something from the car, and go. Nobody has ever been disciplined for leaving a house that felt wrong, and several people have been seriously hurt for staying to be polite.
Afterwards matters as much. Report it, including verbal abuse, because under reporting is why staffing and visit arrangements never change. Get a proper debrief rather than a corridor conversation. And be alert to the delayed reaction: people are often fine on the night and shaky three days later, which is normal and not weakness.
Managers: check on the person more than once. A single how are you on the day gets a fine, and the honest answer often arrives a week later if somebody asks again.
Knowledge check
The knowledge check and your certificate need a free account, so that your progress and results can be saved as evidence.
The learning itself stays free and open. You are reading all of it right now without an account.