Lone Working in Healthcare: The Ultimate Guide

What is Lone Working in Healthcare?

Lone working in healthcare refers to situations where medical personnel need to carry out their duties independently, without immediate supervision or colleagues nearby. This can happen in both inside healthcare facilities such as hospitals and care homes, or outside, including community or home-based care environments. Some examples are when a community nurse visits patients at home or a doctor is on call during a quiet night shift. While lone working is quite common in healthcare, it comes with its own unique set of challenges—most notably the lack of immediate assistance if an emergency arises. Recognizing these risks and putting strong safety measures in place is essential to keep lone healthcare workers safe, supported, and connected while they deliver care independently.

Types of Lone Workers in Healthcare

Workplace safety in healthcare extends to a wide range of lone workers in different areas of the workfield—all of which work without the presence of colleagues that can provide them with assistance. Some of the most common types of lone workers in healthcare are as follows:

• Healthcare personnel who do home services: Visit patients in community or home settings, home health aides, sole caregivers, or community nurses often work alone without supervision and immediate assistance in case of an emergency.

• Paramedics: Operate in unpredictable and high-risk environments like roadside emergencies, patient homes, or remote locations without immediate back up.

• Specialist or technical healthcare workers: Often working alone in labs or providing out-of-hours service, technicians operate without direct supervision

Common Risks of Lone Working in Healthcare

Common Risks of Lone Working in Healthcare

To manage risks effectively in healthcare, it is essential to identify and assess potential dangers to ensure both the lone worker’s and patient’s safety. A study conducted in East Carolina University assessing the risks of lone working with home healthcare workers found that the main risks of lone working in healthcare, specifically in home healthcare are the following but not limited to:

• Aggression and violence in the workplace: Face increased risk of physical or verbal abuse from patients or others, especially when alone in an unfamiliar environment.

• Theft and intruders: Become targets while carrying and handling valuables or sensitive equipment, either in hospitals or during home services.

• Sudden illness or accidents: Experience hazards like trips and falls, musculoskeletal injuries from patient handling, and urgent medical emergencies.

• Driving-related incidents: Face heightened risk of vehicular accidents when travelling between patients’ homes or clinics, as transportation incidents are the leading cause of fatal incidents among lone workers, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Importance of Lone Working Safety in Healthcare

Lone working safety should always be top priority in any sector. In the healthcare industry, where a lone worker handles the overall health of a patient, the importance of safety is heightened. Lone workers in healthcare face various risks that can escalate from a simple accident to a fatality.

Some reasons it’s important for healthcare institutions to have lone worker safety plans in place are the following:

• Enhanced workplace safety: Lone workers are more likely to experience abuse from patients who may be distressed, unpredictable, and occasionally aggressive, hence the need for lone working safety plans and policies.

• Improved emergency planning and response: As lone workers are often far from other workers, the absence of immediate assistance or help when faced with hostile situations place them at more risks for injury than other workers who work in groups or pairs.

• Advanced environmental risk assessments: Lone workers face an increased risk of slips, trips, and falls as these areas are not covered by standard workplace health and safety regulations.

• Refined patient care and service: Having a lone worker safety plan or policy in place ensures lone workers are protected and supported, leading to quality service for patients.

Fortunately, more and more lone working solutions are arising, helping keep healthcare professionals safe. Panic buttons are great tools lone workers can use to instantly call for help during threats or medical emergencies, offering peace of mind that they’re never completely on their own. These lone worker safety solutions also now come digitally with features such as customizable checklists,scheduled check-ins, automatic alerts, fast incident reporting, and real-time location tracking that can help supervisors monitor a lone worker’s whereabouts and respond quickly if issues arise.

Lone Working in Healthcare Regulations

Though there aren’t any lone working centered regulations, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) formed a partnership to improve lone worker health and safety. They estimated that there are approximately 3 million lone workers in North America and Europe, comprising about 15% of the overall workforce. Following this, the two agencies worked on  developing and disseminating information about the risks of working alone and promising prevention strategies.

The American Hospital Association (AHA) has shown its support to the bipartisan legislation Save Healthcare Workers Act (H.R.3178/S.1600) that states that it should be a federal crime to assault hospital staff in any capacity, even calling it a national priority. Their goals include increasing penalties for perpetrators, creating a strong deterrent against workplace violence, and protecting the safety and well-being of healthcare staff.

Additionally, workplace homicides rose by almost 9% in 2022 according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with firearms playing a role in 83% of these incidents. This poses a greater risk in the healthcare industry, where lone workers handle patients in their own homes where anything can happen—especially when the patient is in a state of distress and feels threatened.