Huddersfield nurses get panic alarms

May 5 2009 By Neil Atkinson

PANIC alarms are to be given to hundreds of health workers in Huddersfield – to keep them safe.

The personal security alarms will go to nurses and other healthcare staff who often work alone.

They will be linked to a control centre in West Yorkshire, providing a rapid response by security teams.

The purchase of the alarms has created an extra 40 jobs at the Reliance call centre based in West Yorkshire following a commitment made by Health Secretary Alan Johnson to improve the safety and security of lone NHS workers.

Those to get alarms will include nurses, midwives and health visitors. Lone working is defined as any situation in which someone works without a colleague nearby. It could be outside of a hospital or similar environment or internally, where staff care for patients or service users on their own, including community or outreach workers.

Sue Proctor, chief nurse at NHS Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “The safety of our nurses and other healthcare staff is paramount.

“Lone workers in our region will welcome this system that will allow them to carry out their important work with increased security.

“The fact that NHS investment has created extra jobs in Yorkshire and the Humber comes as fantastic news in these times.”