Care chiefs to probe staff ‘lone working at night’ Workers raise safety fears
Social care staff concerns about lone working at night will be “thoroughly investigated” by Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP).
Councillor Andy Doig, who represents Johnstone North and the surrounding villages, had written to chief officer Christine Laverty after being contacted by employees.
He claimed workers were worried about a “policy of lone working at night”, which had been raised with line management but ultimately not addressed.
However, the HSCP has now committed to looking into the situation after being made aware of the allegations.
Councillor Doig said: “I have been approached by constituents who are social care workers for Renfrewshire HSCP and they have legitimate safety fears about a new policy of lone working at night.
“They have raised this with line management but not been listened to. This is a clear breach of the Scottish Social Services Council guidelines on lone working so I have asked the HSCP to suspend this policy.
“There are two points to address here, there is the question of more and more social care service users having complex needs, this means that it is not always possible to predict when a service user may become aggressive or violent.
“Furthermore, there is the risk of travelling alone in urban areas at night between visits, which add additional potential risks to workers.”
Gwenda Helie, an at home carer who was among workers on the picket line at the Mile End Centre in Seedhill Road, Paisley, on Tuesday, expressed concerns about lone working at night.
She told the Paisley Daily Express: “We can work until 10pm and in the winter it can be cold and dark – really dark by that time of night and we are working on our own.
“Some of these streets can be dark, narrow and even dead-ends. It can be daunting as a woman coming out at that time of night on our own.
“Our safety is at risk and that’s something that isn’t even thought about or considered.”
Renfrewshire HSCP said its social care services adhere to the council’s lone working guidance and no recent policy changes have been introduced.
But it has vowed to probe the claims and make sure employees feel both “supported and heard” at work.
A spokesperson said: “The safety and well-being of our staff are paramount and we actively encourage staff members with any concerns to discuss with management or raise through existing staff support channels.
“We are committed to thoroughly investigating the concerns raised by Councillor Doig and collaborating with relevant services to ensure that staff members feel supported and heard.
“We will reach out to Councillor Doig to gather more details about the concerns raised and ensure he is informed about policies and the procedures in place to safeguard our staff.”
Some of these streets are dark and narrow, even dead ends. It can be daunting as a woman