The students’ legal and/or professional (including health and safety) responsibilities as an employee (paid or unpaid) or student to him/herself and to others; as appropriate adherence to high standards of personal conduct and/or to relevant codes of professional conduct;
Trainees should also familiarise themselves with the Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Violence at Work produced by the Division of Clinical Psychology in 1992:
http://dcp.bps.org.uk/document-download-area/document-download$.cfm?file_uuid=1B293AD3- 7E96-C67F-D1B26C062437B632
These offer useful advice on identifying risk factors and give recommendations for minimising the risk, dealing with violence when it has occurred and post incident procedures and support.
Trainees have a responsibility to ensure they safeguard their physical and psychological well-being in order to maintain their fitness to practise. Trainees need to recognise when they are experiencing high levels of stress or are unwell and discuss an appropriate course of action, including time off work, with their clinical supervisor and clinical tutor. Ways of safeguarding fitness to practise are detailed in the BPS Generic Professional Practice Guidelines, Second Edition:
http://www.bps.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/generic_professional_practice_guidelines.pdf
5. Health and Safety Issues while undertaking Research
As part of the Programme’s requirements, trainees must complete three research projects; a service related research project, a qualitative research project and a major research project. This may require them to work alone in the community or to visit participants in their own homes. While issues of lone working are covered in a Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Health and Safety Policy, trainees are also advised to consult the Social Research Association’s Code of Practice which offers guidance for the safety of social researchers (available on www.the-sra.org.uk). A copy is given to the trainees during their induction before they begin their first research project. The code ‘focuses on safety in interviewing or observation in private settings but is of relevance to working in unfamiliar environments in general’. It covers the following areas:
Clarifying responsibilities Budgeting for safety
Planning for safety in research design Risk assessment
Preparing for fieldwork Setting up fieldwork Interview precautions Maintaining contact Conduct of interviews
Strategies for handling risk situations Safety of respondents
Debriefing and support after the event Making guidelines stick
Trainees should try to avoid collecting data at participants’ homes. They are reminded that their personal safety is of the utmost importance and that it is unwise to take any risks in the process of
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clinical work or data collection. The Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Violence at Work produced by the Division of Clinical Psychology in 1992, described in section 4, are also relevant to trainees conducting research with clinical participants. Trainees are asked to read the Home Visiting and Trainee Safety policy which forms one of the appendices of the Course Handbook and Programme Regulations which is given to each trainee at the beginning of the course.
6. Coping with Harassment
The PsychD Clinical Psychology Training Programme has produced Guidelines for Dealing with Sexual and Racial Harassment for trainees. A copy of these is included in the Course Handbook and Programme Regulations. These guidelines detail the course of action trainees should take if they are being subjected to harassment in any form by a colleague, a Programme team or School member or clinical supervisor. Additionally, the guidelines draw the trainees’ attention to the University’s policy document ‘Guidelines for Dealing with Harassment’, and the employing NHS Trust’s policy titled ‘Promoting Respect for All at Work Policy’. Copies of both these documents are held by the Faculty Administrator. Reference is also made in the Programme’s Guidelines for Dealing with Sexual and Racial Harassment to the BPS Code of Ethics and Conduct which has advice on harassment.
7. Induction to Health and Safety Issues
As part of the trainees’ induction to the Programme, there is a teaching session to introduce health and safety issues and raise awareness of local policies and procedures. This session also reminds trainees of the need for an induction into each placement to discuss fire procedure, general safety awareness, first aid arrangements, accidents and emergencies, reporting arrangements, lone working etc. The Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Violence at Work produced by the Division of Clinical Psychology are introduced to them at this stage of their training. In addition trainees have an introduction to occupational health and an opportunity to meet an occupational health nurse during their induction module.
8. Reporting Health and Safety Issues
Trainees must discuss any problems, incidents or accidents that occur on placement with their clinical psychology supervisor and clinical tutor so that the necessary reports for the host employer can be completed and the trainee’s well being ensured. A copy of any report also needs to be sent to the administrator of the PsychD Clinical Psychology Training Scheme at the University and to the Health and Safety Manager and Trainee Clinical Psychologist Manager at Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
Any accidents or dangerous incidents that occur on the University premises involving either members of the University or visitors must be reported to either the School Safety Adviser or the Faculty Safety Adviser. They will arrange for a University Accident Report Form to be properly completed and the necessary Accident/Incident Investigation to be carried out.
During the induction to the course, trainees are given information about the procedure for reporting absence of any kind both to the course and when they are on clinical placement.
May 2005
Reviewed May 2008
Documents provided for trainees are given to them in their induction packs at the start of the Programme.
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H3
HOME VISITING AND TRAINEE SAFETY POLICY
As part of routine clinical work, and for research projects, trainees may have to visit clients, patients, relatives or volunteers in their own homes.
Trainees are reminded that their personal safety is of the utmost importance, and that it is unwise to take any inappropriate risks in the process of clinical work or data collection.
Clinical Work
All NHS Trusts in which trainees are based for clinical placements will have health and safety policies in place. These should include guidance on home visiting. Trainees are required to familiarise themselves with these policies and to ensure that they observe the guidelines. Any issues of concern should always be discussed with the trainee’s clinical supervisor. Please note that trainees are required to discuss Health and Safety policies in each placement as an essential placement goal. This will be monitored at the Placement Visit.
Research Projects
Trainees should try and avoid collecting data, wherever possible, at participants’ homes. When visiting clients or volunteers at home, trainees will observe the following:
1. That a named individual knows exactly where the trainee is going and when they are likely to complete the visit.
2. Telephones that person when the visit is complete. (A programme team member will agree to do this if no one locally can do this – please let the supervisor know so arrangements can be made).
3. That an agreement has been reached regarding steps to be taken (e.g. to contact the police) if the trainee fails to report back by phone to the contact person by an agreed time.
4. That the trainee takes, and demonstrates to the client, that they have some means of communication, e.g. mobile phone.
5. That trainees have a personal alarm, if the need has been demonstrated by risk assessment. 6. That trainees avoid data collection visits after working hours.
7. That someone accompanies the trainee if the risk assessment identifies the need.
Trainees should ensure that the above is discussed with both their University and field Research Supervisors.
Background
1. At a common sense level we all need to take care of ourselves at work in order to do our jobs properly. Health and safety legislation is set up to ensure that we pay attention to this.
2. As employees of the Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (or designated employing Trust), you are obliged to take notice of the Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (or designated employing Trust) Health and Safety Policy.
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