Phone app keeping workers safe
Posted 22 May, 2019
Jeremy Rochow
While rural South Australia offers a lifestyle like no other, its location and shortage of general services can make it difficult for people with mental health issues to access help.
The Murray Mallee General Practice Network has made it their mission to fill this gap, by providing mental health services for young people in rural areas.
But the Murray Bridge-based GP network’s goal to expand its headspace program across the Fleurieu Peninsula came with its own set of issues.
It also features a first-aid alert, check-in timer and emergency alert to keep workers safe in high-risk and vulnerable situations.
Murray Mallee General Practice Network Business Manager Kristine Dalitz says the app has helped the headspace service on the Fleurieu Peninsula spread further than originally thought possible.
“It’s given us the option to expand our outreach to locations where we don’t always have office space,” Mrs Dalitz says.
If the staff member has to visit clients who don’t have a driver’s licence in Victor Harbor one day and then Strathalbyn or Milang the next, they’ve got to have the ability to do it safely.”
Five staff members at the Murray Mallee General Practice Network have the app installed on their phones, which Mrs Dalitz says offers peace of mind in potentially high-risk environments.
None of them have had to use the SafeZone emergency alert yet, but if they do it’s a simple process.
When the worker pushes the alert button on the home screen, the app will determine their location before RAA’s monitoring centre is notified.
The monitoring centre will contact the worker to get a full understanding of the situation before making a decision about what action to take next.
“Staff who are doing more outreach, going into schools or visiting clients, and working a little bit more by themselves didn’t have the same security as we’d have at our normal spaces,” Mrs Dalitz says.
“So, we thought it would be safer for our staff to have some security like the [SafeZone] Lone Worker app just to make sure we knew where they were and they were safe.”
