Lone working, night shifts, and isolated tasks

HSE defines lone workers as people who work by themselves without close or direct supervision. In care settings, staff may not be the only person in the building but can still be effectively lone working when on a different floor, inside a resident's room, in the laundry, in a garden, in a car park, during a night round, or while escorting someone away from the main team.

Lone working does not automatically make a task unsafe, but it increases the need to assess risk, maintain contact, know how to summon help, and decide when a task should not be done alone.

Common lone or isolated moments

• Night checks: entering bedrooms when residents may be confused, startled, in pain, or asleep.
• Personal care: intimate care behind closed doors, especially where distress or previous incidents are known.
• Domestic areas: laundry, sluice, stores, kitchens, waste areas, and plant rooms.
• Outdoor areas: gardens, smoking areas, entrances, bins, car parks, and poorly lit routes.
• Opening and closing: staff arriving or leaving alone, locking doors, or dealing with unexpected visitors.
• One-to-one support: residents who may abscond, become distressed, or need close observation.

Safer lone-working habits

• Tell someone where you are going: especially for isolated rooms, outdoor areas, or known higher-risk situations.
• Carry the agreed alarm or communication device: check it works before relying on it.
• Keep exits available: avoid letting doors close behind you if that could trap you.
• Do not enter unsafe spaces alone: call for help if you hear shouting, see weapons or broken glass, smell smoke, or feel unsafe.
• Use agreed check-ins: if a task should take five minutes and you are not back, someone should notice.
• Escalate staffing concerns: repeated unsafe lone moments may indicate the rota or care plan is unsafe.

Lone-working assurance

Lone working is safe only when the task, environment, check-in system, alarm route, and escalation plan have all been considered.