Six houses, one podiatrist, nobody watching the clock
A domiciliary podiatrist sets off at eight with a round of housebound patients, including a new patient at an address nobody has visited before. The clinic knows the round in outline. If the podiatrist were delayed, unwell or in an uncomfortable situation at one of the addresses, nobody would know until the end-of-day text did not arrive.
Most visits are uneventful. Your lone working policy exists for the ones that are not, but on paper it often amounts to texting the practice manager when you finish.
Why lone working checks are weak
- Check-ins depend on the podiatrist remembering to text, in between patients.
- The person receiving texts is busy and may not notice one that does not arrive.
- The office does not know the expected time at each address.
- New addresses and known concerns are not flagged before the visit.
- Separate lone worker apps are an extra thing to open, so they are not used.
The root cause is that safety checks are separate from the work itself, so they are the first thing dropped on a busy day.
What weak checks cost
The obvious risk: a podiatrist in trouble with nobody aware for hours. And the quieter costs: podiatrists who feel unsupported, anxious visits to new addresses, and a policy that would not stand up well if anyone looked closely at how it works in practice.
| Check | Today | Built into the round |
|---|---|---|
| Where are they now? | Unknown until they text | Current visit shown to the office |
| Should they have left by now? | Nobody knows the expected time | Overdue alert to a named person |
| New or flagged address | No warning | Shown before the visit |
| Asking for help | Phone call, if possible | Discreet alert from the visit screen |
| End of day | A text, if remembered | Automatic when the last visit is closed |
How we build lone working check-ins
- The day's round is on the podiatrist's phone. Starting a visit records arrival, and closing it, which they do anyway to record notes and payment, records departure.
- Each visit has an expected length from its appointment type. If a visit runs well past it, the podiatrist is prompted first, then a named person in the office is alerted.
- New addresses and any notes your team has added, such as access issues, are shown before the visit starts.
- A discreet help option sends an alert with the current address to the named person, without an obvious alarm on screen.
- If the podiatrist does not close their last visit by the expected time, the office is alerted.
- The office sees a simple view of each domiciliary podiatrist's current status during the day.
- A record of each day is kept, so your policy can be reviewed against what actually happens.
Your lone working policy decides the thresholds, who is alerted and what they do. We build the tools to follow it and do not write the policy.
What changes for domiciliary podiatrists
Check-ins happen as part of recording each visit, so they are not forgotten. Someone in the office knows where each podiatrist is and is alerted if something looks wrong. New addresses are flagged in advance. Asking for help is one discreet tap. And the policy on paper matches what happens on the road.
Is your lone working check a text at 5pm?
- Domiciliary podiatrists check in by text, if they remember.
- Nobody in the office knows the expected time at each address.
- Visits to new addresses have no special check.
- There is no discreet way to ask for help.
- Your lone working policy is not reflected in daily practice.