Framework Housing Case Study
Framework is a charity which provides housing, support, training, care and resettlement services to thousands of homeless and vulnerable people.
They have found very strong links between homelessness and poverty, social exclusion, family breakdown, domestic violence, drugs, alcohol and mental health difficulties and their combined services act to tackle these issues for the people of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
They provide:
- Accommodation - quick access, supported and move-on accommodation
- Advice and Day Centers - drop-in support and outreach work
- Education, Volunteering and Employment - learning and training services
- Floating Support - preventing homelessness by helping vulnerable people in their own home.
Within all these service types there is specialist support for: people with mental health difficulties, people with substance and alcohol issues, people with mild learning difficulties, young people and care leavers, vulnerable women and families and vulnerable older people.
The Challenge
Framework Housing employs over 500 people in various front line and support roles. They also coordinate a full volunteer service, student placements and are working to assist around 200 people back to work with their WiSE program.
Due to the nature of their work they deal face-to-face with members of the public on a daily basis and so are identified specifically as being exposed to a high risk of confrontation.
In pursuit of meeting their duty of care obligations, Framework followed a rigorous assessment of the risks encountered by their staff while providing an effective service for their clients in Nottinghamshire.
In order to ensure the safety of staff an integrated, flexible approach was necessary. To establish an effective time and risk management solution that catered for out-of-hours scenarios along with knowledge for management of the safety and whereabouts of its Lone Workers, it was vital for Framework to work closely with Argyll in order to guarantee an effective solution.
Key Risks
Violence and aggression against staff, verbal and physical abuse, potential for accident and possible ill health heightened by possible lack of support when working late at night or during weekend lone working.
Products and Services:
- Procare
- Specialist GPS device
- Staff mobile phones
- Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) monitoring.
The Solution
After a detailed consultation, the company chose Argyll’s award winning Procare service to manage staff safety requirements.
Violence and aggression is tackled through deployment of the Procare service on a GPS enabled device and/or company mobile phones which enables staff to indicate their current risk status dynamically into the Procare platform.
The service operates 24/7/365 with dynamic alerts being sent simultaneously to Argyll’s BS8484 compliant Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC).
Staff indicate their status throughout the working day and signify that they have completed their work, returning to base or home safely. If for any reason their activity or day is not indicated as complete, the ARC initiates the process tailored to that individual user to locate them and ensure their safety.
If necessary, the device user can initiate a full duress situation opening a valuable communications link to the ARC, where professional incident managers can offer full Police response if required. Full incident management is handled by Argyll and audio evidence is then provided to support the organisation in any subsequent prosecutions.
This integrated solution leaves staff feeling more supported and reassured, safe in the knowledge that they have a coordinated approach to their personal safety whilst working alone. The organisation has addressed a key area of concern and alleviated staff anxieties and stress factors with a small investment in appropriate technology and utilisation of existing resources that enables the organisation to fulfil their duty of care under the current legislation.
Outcome
By deploying Procare, staff can provide a more effective and efficient service to the public, safe in the knowledge that they are protected against the threat of violence attached to lone working. Moral is improved with the peace of mind that as employees they have a solution tailored to their needs.
For the organisation there is a reduction in staff management costs in managing out of office staff; improved efficiency in incident management and it enables Framework’s management to fulfil ‘duty of care’ obligations with a company which complies with best practice British Standard 8484 for the safety of Lone Workers.
Further Information
For further information on the Argyll's Procare Service or specialised Lone Worker devices:
