Resources

There is a growing expectation today that universities will prioritize safety, security, and wellbeing – for all their people, wherever they are. Security and facilities directors are under increasing pressure to ensure that all their facilities, on campus and off, are safe and welcoming.

Safety is a top priority for prospective students and their parents when selecting a university, and for good reason. We will discuss why safety is fast becoming a top three consideration for those who are in the process of choosing a higher ed institution.

According to a report by the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, staff employed in these sectors are 5X more likely to be injured than other workers – today, post-pandemic, the situation has got worse, not better. The World Health Organization estimates that up to 38% of health workers will suffer a physical attack at some point in their careers.

Today, blue phone fixed call points are becoming increasingly rare. It won’t be long before they seem as old-fashioned and ineffective as coin-operated public telephone boxes.

Join us for episode 8 of the IFSEC Global Security in Focus Podcast, as we discuss the challenges of securing the healthcare sector. Across the world, hospitals, care homes, mental health facilities and their staff have been under intense pressure over the past few years with the COVID pandemic bringing new threats and complications into an already stretched environment.

In both the US and the UK, workplace violence has become a priority concern, with verbal and physical attacks against clinical and security staff continuing to rise in hospitals, parking garages, community clinics, and in patients' homes.

The fact that mental health is a huge issue globally for universities was highlighted again last week with Universities UK issuing new guidelines focused particularly on suicide prevention, with similar reports and guidance being issued in the USA and Australia.

West Texas A&M University was already ranked as one of the safest places in the U.S. to attend college, but wanted to do more to enhance the security and wellbeing of students, faculty and staff. After introducing SafeZone, the Police Department realized greater benefits than expected – including protecting the lives of two officers.

When responsibility for lone worker safety is left with individual department heads – managers who may be great at their jobs, but who are not risk or security specialists – standards of protection are usually compromised.

A first-of-its-kind partnership between CriticalArc and Security Monitoring Centres (SMC) will give systems integrators and their customers powerful new options for staff protection, communications, engagement, and wellbeing.

The NAHS, is encouraging renewed focus on NHS lone worker protection, against a backdrop of rising risks and continuing pressure on health service staffing levels.

Protecting health staff from workplace violence is now a top priority for most healthcare organizations.