Are we as a nation more fearful than we used to be? Well, the answer seems to be “Yes”.

A recent survey by the Mental Health Foundation found that 77% of people in the UK believe people in general are more frightened and anxious than they used to be. This is a disturbing figure, all the more so given the well established links between fear, anxiety, stress and other mental health issues.

Research has identified many potential reasons for this more fearful society, but one that affects most people is the belief that modern culture is more violent – that people are more willing to resort to violence and see it as an acceptable strategy for achieving their objectives.

There is no room here to debate the truth or otherwise of this belief, though statistics would seem to bear it out. According to figures published by the Local Government Association around 50,000 assaults on social care staff take place in England every year – a figure that is no doubt reflected in other parts of the UK.

It may be, therefore, that we should recognise the truth of the situation and consider the implications for the vast numbers of people whose occupation brings them face to face to face with the threat of violence. Ignoring the facts and adopting a ‘lies, damned lies and statistics’ attitude can only lead to tragic consequences.

Fortunately, the dangers are increasingly well recognised and employers in high risk occupations are required to carry our risk assessments designed to make the workplace as safe as possible. It is, however, important that individual workers assume personal responsibility for their own safety, and are provided with the skills and knowledge necessary to enable this to happen.

Learning Nexus, recognising this need, have designed a series of courses – all of which will be available towards the end of October - that aim to enable vulnerable workers to avoid risk and work safely. The courses, which have been designed in line with guidance and advice from the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, are engaging, interactive and advice driven.

“Handling Violence and Aggression at Work” enables learners to:

And

• Understand the causes of violence and aggression
• Take steps to avoid it
• Deal with potentially violent situations when they arise
• Deal with actual violence when it cannot be avoided

"Lone Working - Hazards and Risks” looks at a sector of the working population for which general health and safety – not just the risk of violence and aggression – is a real issue. The course considers the general hazards involved in lone working, whose responsibility it is to identify and address those hazards and how this task is carried out

The third course in the series, “Lone Worker Types and Typical Risks”, builds on the previous course by identifying the many different types of lone workers and examining the specific risks each type faces.

The fourth course in the series, “Personal Safety in Other People’s Homes and Premises”, deals specifically with a sector that is particularly at risk – see the statistics quoted earlier. The course considers the various types of hazard these workers face, the risks that emerge and the steps that can be taken to remove or reduce those risks.

Here at Learning Nexus we are proud and pleased to have produced this new suite of courses, designed as it is to help employers keep ‘at risk’ employees safe and meet the challenges to personal safety created by changing cultures and attitudes in our modern society.