The you are, it’s 06.15 in the morning and raining quite merrily. You are going to visit Mabel at 06.00 and you have a flat tyre! You forgot to charge your phone so that’s flat too.
You manage to change your tyre, by now its 06.40, your hands are filthy and the rain has gone down the back of your neck. You arrive at Mabel’s to find she has left her front door open as she has gone out to look and see where you are. You don’t know that, all you know is that she isn’t where she should be. It takes you twenty minutes to find her as she has wondered to the bus stop to shelter from the rain.
You are now going to be late for your next call.
The joy of Lone Working…!
Being a PA you have to manage every aspect of how you work.
You have to manage risk assessments, administration, tax and insurance, care planning, time management, health & safety, infection & control, keeping up to date, communication and of course the care you deliver.
So how does it feel to be a Lone Worker?
It can feel great, you are your own boss, you can choose when you work and who for. You don’t have to clock in and clock out, or follow organisational policies.
It can also feel daunting, isolating and frustrating. The situation outlined above is not fictitious, it has happened and will happen. If not in the ways described, in other equally galling ones.
So how do you make sure you are safe and prepared?
Little things like making sure you have a spare tyre and the tools to change a flat, keeping your phone charged, having contact numbers handy, a waterproof in the car and something to nibble and drink. Servicing your car regularly.
Letting people know where you will be during the day, knowing the area where you will be working, parking under a light if its dark, being aware of who is around you and checking for danger.
Having a supply of PPE, a first aid kit and useful numbers handy.
Lone working can be a challenge so be prepared for those odd circumstances that arise.
